Symbiosis
by Smenzer
Summary: Dumbledore tells Lucius he is Harry's new Godfather. Harry, Hermoine, Draco and Lucius all manage to get along while still being in character. A unique story about friendship, changing for the better and learning from one's mistakes. Read and review!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Symbiosis

Author: Smenzer

Email: PG

Pairing: None

Archive: Yes, please archive. If you want to add this story to a website, please let me know.

Teaser: The Malfoys learn why they need Muggles.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Warner Bros, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Heyday/1498 films, JK Rowling and Raincoat books. This is just for fun. No money is being made.

Hermoine strolled across the still empty beach and placed her beach towel in the perfect place. It was her first day of summer vacation and she was determined to spend at least one day of it relaxing, getting a little sun. "No thinking of You Know Who or Death Eaters or Dementors or how horrible poor Harry must be right now at the Dursleys. You can worry about that all tomorrow and the rest of the summer. Today you're just a teenage girl resting on the beach!"

She settled on her brightly colored towel and watched the nearby sea roll into the shore with white foam. Seagulls cried overhead and one lonely sailboat bobbed on the sea's surface. Even though it was only morning, the sun was bright overhead and it warmed the large expanses of bare skin not covered by her red swimsuit. She glanced down at her legs and arms. "I feel so naked!"

A few years ago it was normal to spend the day at the beach. That had all ended when she had learned she was a witch and had met Harry. "Well, at least I had owled him a package of food earlier today so he won't starve."

A few more minutes ticked by.

Her fingers drummed on the towel and she glanced at her beach bag. Perhaps she could do some reading…

"No, you're here to relax, not study!" Hermoine told herself firmly. "You can go one day without having your nose stuck in a book! Why, other girls your age ….."

Hmmm, what DID other girls her age do? She pondered that for a moment. "Oh, they have boyfriends. I guess."

Well, that certainly was out! Hermoine could just imagine how some cute but dumb boy would act if she told him she was a witch. "That would never work!"

No, they could never keep up with her intellectually anyway. Like that professional Quidditch player: BOR-ING. Why couldn't there be a cute and smart boy? "Oh, now I feel guilty for thinking about a possible summer romance when Harry has it so bad! I bet that horrible Uncle never took him to the beach in his life!"

It was all Dummbledore's fault!

While Hermoine suffered on her beach towel, dark dastardly things were afoot not too far away. An invisible carriage pulled to a stop near the long strip of sand. It was very old-fashioned looking, not all that different then the ones that took the students up to Hogwarts each year. A large M circled by twin snakes was on the doors. Two people sat inside, one much younger than the other. Snake-headed cane in hand, the older one began to speak. "Now Son, you will see many horrible things here. You must be brave."

Draco shifted a bit nervously on the hard wooden bench inside the carriage, but stared back at his father. "Muggles are here?"

"Yes, it's one of the places they like to go. Soon you will understand why we hate them. They breed like animals and are everywhere. It's disgusting." Lucius Malfoy explained to his son. "Many of the things they do will no doubt shock you. Remember that you are as high above them as the birds in the sky."

"Yes, Father." Nervousness bubbled in Draco's stomach but he hid it from his father well. He had never seen a Muggle community before and he had no idea what to expect. But when Lucius opened the carriage door and got out, he boldly followed him. He blinked in surprise at the large expanse of golden sand and the sparkling blue sea. Birds cried overhead and a salty breeze blew the fine strands of white-blonde hair off his forehead. He glanced first one way, then the other. "Is this the right place, Father? I don't see any Muggles."

"Ah, we have arrived early it seems. Soon this place will be swarming with them." Lucius informed him. His blue-gray eyes searched the large expanse of sand and spotted a bright bit of red far off to the left. Raising an arm, the brilliant sun sparkling off the priceless rings on his fingers, he pointed. "There is a Muggle we can observe."

Wordlessly Draco followed his father towards the unsuspecting Muggle. His fine black dress shoes weren't made for walking on the beach and soon he felt grains of sand slip inside them. The hot sun pounded down on his bare head and the first trickle of sweat ran down his back. It felt unbearably hot for some reason, hotter than it should. It never felt like this at Malfoy Manor during the summer. He frowned, thinking the coarse grains of sand were no doubt ruining the smooth finish on his shoes. Then his mind shifted to the tall thin figure ahead of him. Had they just come here to watch Muggles or did his Father plan to do more? And if so, would he be expected to participate?

The Muggle was just ahead of them now and Draco stopped, his mouth dropping open to form an O. Lucius had also stopped and waited just two steps in front of him. Draco squinted, a hand shading his eyes. That bushy brown hair looked awful familiar, but the rest…? "I never knew Granger had such legs…"

Hermoine still sat on her beach towel, totally unaware she had acquired an audience. Her thoughts swirled around in her head all jumbled together. "No, you won't worry about the OWLs as you won't find out until mid July. Hmm, I wonder if I should make another food package?"

Just like magic, her thoughts were once again back to Harry stuck in that awful house. "If it wasn't for that Dummbledore he could come to the beach with me! Like Death Eaters would really come here!"

A dark figure stepped in front of her, blocking the sun.

Hermoine jumped slightly in surprise, having been so sure that the beach was totally deserted. Usually people made lots of racket when they started to arrive: kids screaming, radios blasting music, people laughing and shouting. It had been totally silent though. Her eyes focus on the totally inappropriate black dress shoes, the black pants, and the black robe with dark green trim…?

She tilted her head back quickly to see the person's face and found herself staring into Draco's gray eyes. "What…?"

"Didn't expect to find you here, Granger." Draco said with his usual drawl. His eyes flickered to her red swimsuit. "Loose your clothes?"

"No, I didn't loose them!" Hermoine quickly climbed to her feet, her face turning slightly red from embarrassment. She knew she had nothing to be ashamed of, but she had gotten so used to wearing the school uniform all the time that wearing normal summer clothing felt odd. "It's a swimsuit. You know, beach clothing? Didn't you ever see a swimsuit before?"

"No, of course not. I'm a Pureblood, remember?" Draco informed her.

"No, I didn't forget!" Hermoine rolled her eyes. "You only remind me like almost every day! What are you doing here anyway?"

"Father brought me here to observe Muggles, only we found you instead."

"Your father is here?" Hermoine asked, her heart practically leaping up into her throat. It pounded in her chest like an out of control jackhammer and the loud sound seemed to fill her ears. She had been so sure that Death Eaters wouldn't come to the beach and certainly not one that was supposed to be locked up in Azkaban Prison! She spun around and saw Lucius standing behind her, watching. A soft breeze blew his long white hair but his blue-gray eyes never left her. How could she have been so stupid? She was out-numbered and totally alone with two Slytherins! They could kidnap her or who knows what and she would be totally defenseless because underage witches can't use magic! Why, she wasn't even holding her wand!

"Miss Granger, we meet again." Lucius Malfoy said as he stepped closer, a not so pleasant smile on his face.

Hermoine's mind raced but for once she was totally speechless. Lucius Malfoy was the last person she had ever expected to see on a beach!

"Speechless, Granger?" Draco drawled, raising his dark eyebrows. "I'm shocked."

"Umm, aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" she finally asked Mr. Malfoy.

"Ah, yes. That unfortunate incident." Lucius smiled, his teeth perfectly white and straight. "Needless to say, I have gotten out of there. The accommodations were utterly horrible and I have no plans to ever return to that place. But it seems it's just the three of us on this lonely beach. Where ever could all the Muggles be?"

Hermoine took an uncertain step backward. "I … I really don't know."

"Why, Miss Granger. You're not frightened of me, are you?" Lucius asked innocently. "I assure you we had no idea you were here. I brought Draco here so he could learn how horrible Muggles really are."

"There's nothing wrong with Muggles!" Hermoine cried as she bravely stared Lucius in the eyes.

"But you're biased, of course. Your parents are Muggles." He stated, his eyes shifting up and down the beach to make certain they were still alone. It wouldn't do to be caught talking of Wizard-World things in front of actual Muggles.

"Yes, they are." Hermoine admitted as she bravely stood her ground. "Why do you hate Muggles so much? They don't do you anything! They don't even know you exist!"

"But if they did know, they'd wipe us all out, wouldn't they?" Lucius ran his gloved fingers idly along his cane. His wand, of course, was hidden inside and within easy reach. Granger, on the other hand, was wandless. Pleased, he moved a step closer to the defenseless girl. "You know it's true. They hate our kind and would be all too happy to see us burn."

"If you're referring to Salem, those weren't even real witches! That was about prejudice and hatred and things getting out of control!" Hermoine replied. "Most Muggles love magic!"

"Granger, has the sun fried your brain?" Draco asked, feeling unbearably hot in his school uniform. "How can Muggles love magic if they don't have any?"

"Well, they do love it! They put it in movies and books and stage plays! Why, they even have magic shows where a person called a magician does all sorts of tricks on stage, like sawing a woman in half or pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It's all tricks of course, slight of hand and mirrors, but the audience loves it!"

Draco blinked at her. "What's a movie?"

"Well, it's …. It's…"

"Yes?" Lucius asked.

"It's Muggle magic!" Hermoine blurted out. "It's like a stage play except it's on a film and it moves and there's sound, well, you really need to see one to understand."

"In other words, it's technology." Lucius guessed.

"Of course. But technology is based on magic!" Hermoine was warming to her subject now. She felt slightly more relaxed, since so far the escaped Death Eater who stood before her hasn't tried to kill her or kidnap her. "Don't you see that?"

"No." Lucius replied. "It's all bits of noisy metal and stinky fumes."

As if on cue, a Muggle airplane flew high overhead, the vibrating sound of its engines filling the air. Hermoine eagerly pointed up at the plane. "Long ago Muggles would watch the birds fly in the sky and they dreamed of flying, too. There's an ancient myth about how a man tried to fly up to the sun using feathers and how he failed. But man didn't give up and with time they invented airplanes. And Air travel has brought the far reaches of the globe close together. You can hop on a plane and be almost anywhere within hours!"

"Flue powder can do the same." Lucius replied, unimpressed.

"Yes, but Muggles don't have flue powder!"

"Exactly." Lucius agreed, his long white hair blowing in the sea breeze. "But it won't matter much anymore. I mean, we ARE going to kill the Muggles."

"Surely you don't mean ALL the Muggles?" Hermoine asked, shocked.

"Why not?" He replied. "Then we won't have to hide anymore. Muggles are just annoying pests. They're like vermin."

Hermoine crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk appearing on her face. "And I suppose you're going to grow your own food then, are you?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Granger. We're nobility. We don't grow food! We buy it from a store and I thought you did, too. Now Weasley…"

"Well, the store won't have any food if you kill all the Muggles!" Hermoine cried. "Oh, you can be so incredibly dense! It's the Muggles that grow all the food! They have the technology to grow as much food as possible off each piece of land. They know how to harvest it, how to store it and how to ship it around the world! If you kill them, whose going to put food on your table?"

"Well…" Lucius rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, unsure what to say about this new development.

"Do you like to eat tropical fruits?" Hermoine asked Mr. Malfoy.

"Yes, of course." He replied.

"So when all the Muggles are gone are you going to teleport all the way to Hawaii for pineapples or to Brazil for bananas? And how much can you really bring back that way? Face it; flue powder and brooms are not very good at transporting cargo! Muggle aircraft are. So whether you like it or not, you need Muggles!"

Draco glanced from Hermoine to his father. He certainly didn't like the idea of starving or going without foods he had always taken for granted. "But doesn't Herbology…?"

"No, Draco." Hermoine answered his unfinished question. "Herbology only deals with magical plants. You can't eat them. They're not a food crop. Wizards are too busy doing magic to have time for large-scale farming!"

"Well, it appears the plan might have a few slight flaws…" Lucius admitted. Then he smiled. "But our time hasn't been totally wasted. We have, after all, caught you."

"What?" Hermoine asked, hoping she had misheard him but dreading the worst.

"You heard me, my dear." Lucius said as he reached out and gripped her arm securely with a black-gloved hand. "Not that it's you we want. But, well, one takes what one can get. And you are being so helpful."

"Let go of me!" Hermoine wailed as she tried to twist out of his grasp.

"I'm not going to hurt you, not if you cooperate."

"You better cooperate, Granger." Draco said, still eying the swimsuit. "How can you go out in public dressed like that?"

"For the second time, there's nothing wrong with it! It's normal!" Hermoine shouted at him.

"There's nothing normal about that." Draco replied.

"Well, you better never see a bikini then!" She shouted back. "You'd no doubt pass out!"

Draco looked at his father, confused. "What is she talking about?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." Lucius admitted. "I told you Muggles do shocking things."

"Obviously." Draco agreed.

"So if you're finished yelling nonsense at my son, you can help us." Lucius told her. "So, where's Potter?"

"I'll never tell you!" she vowed.

"Come on, Granger." Draco said as he moved closer, flashing a brilliant smile. "Tell me where Potter is."

"Here's where he is every summer!" Hermoine answered.

"But where's that?" Draco asked.

Hermoine frantically thought of how she could escape from this mess, but it didn't look good at all. The only real thing in her favor was the fact that so far Lucius hadn't tried to kill her. "Look, I thought you wanted to study Muggles? Soon lots of Muggles will start arriving and then you can study away. You don't need Harry for that."

"True." Lucius admitted. "That had been my original plan but I can't let this golden opportunity pass by, either. It's not often one of you three are unguarded and all alone. Well, Weasley is but then who would want to kidnap him?"

"There's nothing wrong with Ron!" Hermoine protested. Then she turned to glare at Draco. "And they don't live in a single room, either! They live in the Burrow!"

"And Potter?" Lucius repeated, his grip on her firm.

"With his uncle." Hermoine finally said, feeling guilty for saying even this much. "But you don't want to go there! Harry has told …wait, why am I telling you for?"

"Because you love to talk, Granger." Draco smiled at her, the sunlight shining on his pale hair.

"Perhaps we could make a deal?" Lucius offered. "You wish to no doubt convince us that Muggles are not horrible. Is that not true? So we will spend the weekend here and you can have that time to show me that my beliefs are wrong. In return you'll tell us where Potter is."

"Like I'm going to make a deal with a Death Eater!"

"It seems to me you have very little choice."

"Oh, all right!" Hermoine sighed, thinking she was going to put the high and mighty Purebloods through all sorts of Muggle torture. Who knows, it might even be fun. And with a little luck, they might even get to LIKE Muggles. "But you're going to have to cooperate, too!"

"I will. We will." Lucius promised and he released her arm.

To be continued…


	2. On Privet Drive

Symbiosis 2: On Privet Drive

Hermoine nervously bit her lip as she stood on the deserted sidewalk of Privet Drive, Lucius gripping her wrist firmly once again.. Deserted, that is, except for herself and the Malfoys. She really hadn't wanted to tell Lucius where Harry lived, but then she had been dragged into the invisible carriage and a wand had been stuck in her face so she had told him. Instantly the vehicle had started to move and now a short time later the three of them stood staring at the house where the famous Harry Potter lived.

Draco stared at the house in disbelief. "Potter lives HERE? You got to be kidding. You gave us the wrong address, didn't you?"

"NO! I swear I didn't!" Hermoine said as she too studied the house. Except for the glass-covered addition, it appeared identical to the other houses in the neighborhood. "But I've never been here before. No one from school has!"

Lucius turned to study Hermoine. "And why is that?"

"His uncle won't allow it." She replied matter-of-factly. She glanced around, wondering if Harry was at home and if his bodyguards were watching him. With luck, the guard had already spotted the Malfoys and word had been sent to Dummbledore. Unless the one on duty was that careless, sorry excuse for a wizard, the one that had popped off to go buy stolen cauldrons! If it were his shift now, then they'd be doomed! Lucius would catch Harry and it would all be her fault! "Ooh, why did we have to come here?"

"Feeling guilty?" Lucius asked, a smile on his face. Then he straightened up and started up the walk towards the door, dragging her along. Draco silently followed. Upon reaching the door, he stopped, staring for a moment in confusion. "Where's the knocker?"

Hermoine rolled her eyes. "Use the doorbell. But this is a very bad idea."

"No one asked your opinion, Granger." Draco sneered as he moved to stand on the other side of his father, so Lucius was between the two teens. "We're here to get your precious Potter and we'll get him!"

"But you don't NEED him!" she cried in aspiration.

"I insist that Potter spend the weekend with us." Lucius told her in no uncertain terms. "Then and only then will I keep MY end of our deal. Until then, you're our … guest."

'You mean prisoner!"

"Well, if you insist on using that term." Lucius cautiously raised a gloved finger and pressed the doorbell. A faint ringing could be heard from inside.

"Bad, bad idea." Hermoine took an uncertain step backward, putting some distance between her and the door.

The door flew silently open and an extremely fat boy wearing a Muggle-style suit stared at them. His eyes narrowed, raking Lucius from head to foot.

"Hello," Lucius started to say. "I'm …"

The door slammed shut, the wind lifting Lucius' long hair off his shoulders.

"What…?" Lucius glanced at Hermoine. "Who was that?"

"Ummm, I think that's Harry's cousin." She guessed. "From what I heard of him, we're quite lucky actually. He'd pound you to a bloody pulp and rob you."

Draco stared at Hermoine, his gray eyes widening in shock. "A filthy Muggle would beat us up? You got to be kidding, Granger!"

"We're Malfoys." Lucius stated, as if that explained it all. "We don't take this kind of abuse and certainly not from Muggles. It's obvious the boy didn't know who we are."

"That and he's very rude." Draco drawled.

Not to be outdone, Lucius rang the buzzer again and waited. After a few short moments, the door opened to reveal a fat Muggle man dressed in similar fashion to the boy. His beady eyes narrowed as he studied the odd assortment of people on his doorstep.

"Who are you?" Mr. Dursley asked, suspicion in his voice. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" Lucius asked, confused. "I'm Lucius Malfoy and I'm here to see Mr. Potter. I understand that he lives here?"

"How many times do I have to tell you people not to come around here!" Mr. Dursley hissed, his eyes darting nervously around at the other houses. "Can't you people dress normally? Nooooooo! Got to wear odd stuff! And…."

Mr. Dursley's words trailed off as his eyes landed on the Malfoy carriage, which for the moment wasn't invisible. His mouth dropped open and his face turned red, then purple. "EEEEEEEHHHHH! What is that THING in front of my house!"

Lucius turned calmly and glanced behind himself. "My carriage. Why? Is there something wrong?"

"The boy isn't allowed to have any guests. He's being punished! Good day!" Mr. Dursley started to close the door, but Lucius quickly stuck his cane between the door and the frame. "Sir! I insist you leave immediately or I shall be forced to call the police!"

"I think there has been a slight misunderstanding." Lucius said, smiling. "I do not wish to visit with the boy but take him for a few days."

Mr. Dursley blinked, his face going blank. "Take him?"

Lucius' smile grew wider. He put an arm around Draco's shoulders, the other arm around Hermoine's. "You see, my children here are friends with Potter and we'd be grateful if you'd let him come visit for a few days. Do you think that could be possible?"

"You'd take Potter?" Mr. Dursley repeated.

Lucius nodded, still smiling.

"And the bloody pigeon, too?"

"Yes?"

Mr. Dursley leaned a bit farther out the door. "You do understand that if the boy does any damage I'm not going to pay a bloody pence! Got it?"

"Of course."

"One moment…" Mr. Dursley left the door open and went a bit into the house. "POTTER! Get down here right now and bring that bloody pigeon with you! Those weirdoes are here to take you for the summer!"

Harry appeared on the upstairs landing, Hedwig's cage in his hands. He stared down at his uncle in confusion. "Who's here?"

"I don't know and I don't care, boy! Only thing I DO know is they got some giant eyesore in front of my house and if they don't get going soon I'll have all sorts of questions from the neighbors to answer! So if you know what's good for you, you'll get down here this minute!" Mr. Dursley bellowed. "Probably the same freaks that wrecked my fireplace and got dirt all over my living room!"

"The Weasleys?" Harry hurried down the steps dragging his black bag of clothes and books behind him, his owl in the other hand. Since he had been only home for a day, he hadn't really unpacked. In truth, he had been wishing that the Weasleys would show up and take him to the Burrow, so he had put off unpacking. If he unpacked, then he'd have to face the reality of being trapped in this horrible house with his wicked Aunt and Uncle. He'd rather face another basilisk than stay here. "They didn't say they were coming…"

"Well, there here." Mr. Dursley gripped Potter firmly by the upper arm and started shoving him towards the front door. "And the faster you join them, the faster they'll leave!"

Harry spotted Lucius Malfoy calmly waiting outside the door and he tried to dig his heels into the floor. "That's not the Weasleys!"

"I don't care who it is! I only know he's willing to take you off my hands!" Mr. Dursley tightened his grip on Harry's arm and flung him out the front door right on top of Lucius. Both Lucius and Harry were knocked to the cement sidewalk, Hedwig's cage tumbling until it came to a stop lying on its side in the grass.

Harry glared at his uncle. "I wasn't going to stay anyway! Anywhere is better than here!"

"Keep him and don't bring him back!" Mr. Dursley said as he slammed the door.

"Harry! Are you all right?" Hermoine hurried to her fallen friend and helped him to his feet.

Harry straightened his glasses and stared at her in disbelief. "Hermoine? What are you doing here? And why are you wearing a … swimsuit?"

"Death Eaters are not supposed to go to beaches!" Hermoine whispered to her friend. "It's so unfair! But they caught me and insisted I tell them where you were! I didn't want to, really! But he was insistent and I didn't know what to do! I'm so sorry, Harry, really I am!"

"It's all right, Hermoine." Harry told her. His green eyes scanned the area, but he only saw the Malfoys. "We'll get out of this somehow. Is it just the two of them?"

Hermoine nodded.

While they had been talking, Draco had helped his father to his feet and Lucius brushed invisible dust off his clothes. The elder Malfoy moved closer to Potter and stared into the boy's eyes with pure menace. "I strongly suggest you cooperate."

"Fine." Harry replied. He retrieved Hedwig's cage and his luggage, then went down the walk and climbed into the Malfoy's carriage.

Hermoine watched openmouthed, and then she hurried after him. "Harry, you're not just going to go with them, are you?"

"Anywhere is better than here." He stated.

"Well," Lucius glanced down at his son. "This has gone a lot more smoothly than I had hoped."

Harry watched nervously as Lucius and Draco joined them in the carriage, his mind conjuring up all the horrible things that could be done to him. The most obvious one being that he would be handed over to Voldemort. The evil wizard wanted him dead and would be all to glad to finally do the dirty deed. Although he was concerned with his own safety, he was more worried about Hermoine. So he was quite taken aback when Hermoine started to speak to Lucius.

"You better keep your end of the bargain!" Hermoine glared at Lucius. "You said the weekend and since today's Friday that means we have three days!"

"What?" Harry's mouth dropped open in shock. He shifted on the hard wooden seat to look at his best friend. "You made a bargain with HIM? How could you do something like that? He's a Death Eater and belongs in Azkaban! I trusted you!"

"Would you calm down?" Hermoine quickly said as she turned to face Harry. "It's nothing sinister! It's quite simple really. And yes, he's supposed to be in Azkaban but as you can clearly see he's not. He's got this crazy idea of killing Muggles and we have three days to convince him not to!"

Harry blinked, not sure he had heard her correctly. "You expect us to get him to like Muggles in three days! That's impossible! He hates Muggles!"

"They really don't know anything about Muggles." Hermoine corrected. "It may not be as difficult as you think."

Harry leaned closer to Hermoine. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Well, obviously we need to take them somewhere a lot of Muggles go, someplace fun." Hermoine glanced down at herself. "But I need to change first. I can't go anywhere like this."

"Very well," Lucius agreed as he directed the magical carriage to proceed towards Hermoine's house. "But I will keep Potter here with us, so you best come back out or the deal is off. And if you attempt to send an owl, I'll know and things will go badly for your friend here."

The carriage quickly moved through the streets and a short time later stopped in front of Hermoine's house. She opened the door and jumped the short distance to the ground. Her hand on the door, she paused and glanced back at her friend, concern on her face. "You'll be all right, Harry?"

"I'll be fine. Just go." He told her, hoping that it would be true. It had occurred to him that once Hermoine had disappeared inside, Lucius could simply drive off and kidnap him. But would it actually be kidnapping since his uncle had practically given him to the Death Eater? And where had his bodyguard been while all this had happened? Surely they would recognize Lucius Malfoy on sight! He watched Hermoine disappear through the front door of her house and he shifted his attention to the Malfoys. "What do you want?"

"Why, the opportunity to study Muggles." Lucius said sweetly, his hands holding his cane across his lap. "And to spend some time with you. Surely there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"And what if I don't want to spend time with you? I don't trust you." Harry boldly stared him in the eyes, unafraid.

"Potter," Draco interrupted. "Who was that man that tossed you out?"

"My Uncle Vernon." Harry replied. "He's a Muggle and he doesn't care for OUR kind."

"You're not our kind, Potter. We're Purebloods, remember? How many times do I have to tell you?" Draco snarled.

"I wouldn't want to be your kind!" Harry argued back, defiance in his green eyes. "You're all inbreeding! You'll end up with sterile babies that have feet growing out of their heads! And they'll be Muggles, too!"

"What? How dare you, Potter! You'll pay for that!" Draco launched himself across the short distance between the two seats and flung himself on top of Harry. He took a swing at Potter's face and Harry gripped a handful of Draco's whitish-blonde hair, yanking hard. Draco's head was pulled back and he shrieked in pain.

"Children! Children, please!" Lucius got to his feet and gripped his son by the shoulder, pulling him off Harry, who released the other's hair. Roughly shoving Draco back into his own seat, he angrily glared at the two of them. Picking his cane up off the seat where he had put it for a brief moment, Lucius waved it angrily. "There will be no fighting! If I catch you fighting again, you'll both get it with this. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father." Draco answered, his gray eyes downcast. When he lifted his gaze, he glared at Potter through his bangs.

Lucius turned his attention to Harry. "And do you understand?"

Harry glared right back at Draco, but nodded his head. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

"Good." Lucius returned to his seat next to his son, one hand firmly wrapped around his cane. The distance inside the carriage was small enough that he could strike either Potter or his own son as needed. "Now Draco, I want you to treat out guests politely. That means no insults, either to Potter or Miss Granger. And I certainly hope you will not engage in common brawling again!"

"But their just filthy Mud…"

The cane whipped out and struck Draco on his fingers hard enough to sting but not hard enough to do any serious damage. "You will not use that term, Draco. How many times do I have to tell you to play nicely, especially if you're in public! The proper term is Muggle-born."

Draco stuck his aching fingers by his mouth. "Yes, Father. "I'm sorry, Father."

Harry sat quietly for a moment, thinking. It was clear that Lucius meant what he had said. But was it actually possible for him to get along with Draco? "You should know we're not exactly good friends at school…"

"I am aware of that," Lucius replied. "That is why I will accompany you anywhere we go while Draco watches Miss Granger."

Draco's mouth dropped in shock and he turned to his father. "You're pairing me up with that …girl?"

"That girl gets better grades than you do in every subject!" Lucius pointed out harshly, then his voice softened. "But I'm pleased to see you can learn not to use certain words."

"It's not my fault she gets better grades!" Draco protested quickly. "I do the best I can, Father. You know that."

"Ummm, excuse me?" Harry butted in, his voice unsure. It had almost seemed the two had forgotten he was there watching them.

"Yes?" Lucius replied as he looked at Potter with interest.

"I was just wondering if either of you have ever visited the zoo? My Uncle took me there once several years ago…" Harry asked, sure that it was a totally dumb idea. The Malfoys were so rich that they probably owned several zoos.

"The zoo?" Draco said, his brow wrinkling in concentration. Then his face went totally blank. "What's a zoo?"

"It's where Muggles keep their animals." Harry explained. "And there should be lots of Muggles there to observe as well."

"Muggles have animals? Besides cats and dogs you mean?" Draco asked. Then he leaned back in his seat and smirked confidently. "Father usually takes me to the horse races or to the opera. Sometimes we play a round of polo, but Quidditch is much more exciting. Truthfully, polo is a baby's game, don't you agree Potter?"

"I never played polo before." Harry admitted. Although he didn't want to tell Draco, he just barely knew what polo was and that it involved horses. "My uncle isn't exactly keen on taking me places."

Draco leaned forward. "Don't tell me you've never ridden a horse!"

"No, not really." Harry said, slightly embarrassed.

"Well," Draco continued with a confident smile on his face. "I've been riding horses since I've been seven-years-old. We have our own stables, you see."

"Hey!" Hermoine appeared at the open carriage door, a surprised look on her face. She was now dressed in a white T-shirt and blue shorts, athletic shoes on her feet. "Don't tell me you two are actually talking to each other!"

"No," Harry answered. "He's just boasting again. Same old same old, you know how it is. But I thought we could try the zoo."

Draco glared at Harry but didn't dare try anything else.

Hermoine leaped up into the carriage. "That's a great idea! You'll see how well the Muggles take care of all the animals!"

"These animals better not be dangerous, not like the things that oaf makes us study." Draco remarked, the memory of Buckbeak suddenly sharp in his mind.

"Well, I admit those Blast-Ended Skewts were a bit much…" Hermoine agreed.

"What, you're agreeing with me?" Draco said, surprised as he stared at Hermoine.

"Well, there really was no point studying them now was there? I mean, we're never really going to encounter one ever again." Hermoine said matter-of-factly. "But it's perfectly safe at the zoo, as long as you don't crawl into an animal's enclosure. But if a person is dumb enough to do that, well, they're just begging to get bit or trampled or gored."

A short time later the magical carriage arrived at the London Zoo and the four of them climbed out. Hermoine immediately went and bought the tickets, knowing that Purebloods such as the Malfoys wouldn't have a clue about Muggle money. Once she had the tickets, she marched them all through the gates. Inside, it looked a bit like a park with paths that led off in various directions. There were signs on posts that guided the visitor to different areas like Asia or Africa.

"I don't believe that I'm in a Muggle zoo. How degrading." Draco drawled as he glanced around, a bored expression on his pointed face. Sighing, he went up to Granger and gripped her arm. "Father says I'm supposed to watch you. No sneaking off."

"You mean I have to watch you!" she replied as she glanced down at his hand on her arm. "Or else you're liable to do something stupid."

"Fine. We'll watch each other." Draco started walking down the first path he saw and Hermoine was forced to go with him. Up ahead and to the right he spotted a large pond set among the trees. Some odd birds that he'd never seen before were wading in the water, some dunking their heads. The birds were brilliant pink with down curved beaks edged in black. "What are those?"

Lucius and Harry joined them by the little fence that kept visitors out of the birds' area.

"Flamingoes." Hermoine answered.

"Do they breathe fire?" Draco asked.

"No."

"Petrify you?"

"Nope."

"Do they do ANYTHING at all?"

Harry bent over the fence and was wiggling a finger, trying to get the attention of one of the birds. One curious flamingo slowly came over on its long, stilt-like legs. After eyeing the finger for a moment, its head snapped forward and bit the finger. "Owwww! Let go!"

Draco watched, laughing. "I like them after all!"

"Harry! Stop torturing that bird!" Hermoine yelled at him, running over and trying to pull his arm away from the bird. But the hungry flamingo wasn't about to give up the tasty treat it had found.

"I'm not! It's torturing me!" Harry protested as the bird was yanked off its feet, its long neck stretching over the waist-high metal fence with its beak sealed firmly on Potter's trapped finger.

Hermoine, realizing the bird wasn't going to let go, ran over to Lucius. "DO something!"

Lucius, trying very hard to keep a straight face, quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Determining that they were alone for the moment, he gave the flamingo a sharp whack on the head with his cane. The startled bird instantly released Potter's finger and collapsed to the grass unconscious.

"We better get out of here before someone comes along!" Hermoine said as she gave Harry a shove on his back and he started down the path, his hand cradled against his chest. Her brown eyes shifted to Draco. He was sitting on the little fence and laughing hysterically, tears running down his face. She ran over to him and gripped his upper arm. Hauling him to his feet, she dragged him further into the zoo and away from the abused waterfowl. "Stop laughing!"

Draco only laughed harder. He threw an arm around her shoulders and leaned against her a bit. "The mighty Potter getting bit by a bird!"

"Oh, it isn't even funny!" Hermoine said, suddenly realizing she had never been this close to Draco before. In fact, before he would never have dared touch her because she was a lowly Muggle-born and she might contaminate him. But for the moment, he seemed to have forgotten it. Could it be her plan was actually working?

They came upon the next exhibit which was a large rocky island surrounded by a wide, deep moat. The island itself held several small monkeys with long prehensile tails. They had trees to climb, tires to swing from as well as ropes and even a few assorted toys to play with. The monkeys quickly scrambled up and down the trees, swinging from the ropes while making faces. Hermoine led the still laughing Draco over to the waist high fence and carefully leaned him against it. But she wisely kept a grip on him. The last thing she needed was for him to fall over backward into the moat!

In this area of the zoo there were many more people. Young mothers with strollers, families with shouting kids, wives with husbands. The younger kids climbed partway on the fence, their arms tightly gripping the top, so they could see the monkeys better. Lucius was watching the Muggles with interest. Amazing as it was, they seemed to ignore him, even if Mr. Dursley seemed to think he was dressed oddly. He was also under the impression that Muggle men had short hair and that his long, shocking white locks would attract undue attention. Yet that didn't seem to be the case. Glancing to make certain that Potter was occupied and out of trouble, he moved over to Hermoine. "The Muggles seem to be ignoring me, even if I'm dressed differently. Why is that?"

"Oh, these days Muggles wear all sorts of stuff." Hermoine explained. "There are all different styles and such. It's really quite silly really. And some men do have long hair."

Draco had finally stopped laughing and he wiped his face dry with his hands. He watched the monkeys for a few minutes, and then shifted his gaze to the other boy. Although Potter was facing the island with the monkeys, he really didn't seem to be watching them. Curious, he inched over until he was standing next to him. Besides, his father was engaged in some boring discussion with Granger. Between the two choices, Potter's far-away gaze seemed the more interesting. "Galleon for your thoughts."

Harry's green eyes shifted to Draco. "What do you want?"

"Well, seeing that we're going to be stuck together all weekend, I thought that maybe we should try to get along. Temporarily, that is. I don't enjoy getting my knuckles beat, you know?" Draco's gray eyes shifted down to Harry's hands where they rested on the short, mint green fence. "That bird didn't hurt you, did it?"

"No, not really." Harry replied, a bit surprised that Draco had even asked. "It doesn't have any teeth. It was just squeezing my finger really…"

"Oh." Draco crossed his arms and leaned against the fence. "Does it bother you that the Muggle threw you out? I mean, if my Father threw me out it certainly would bother me."

Harry shrugged. "Not really. I didn't want to be there anyway. Every year it gets worst…"

He paused, wondering why of all people he was telling Draco. He didn't trust the little ferret. He didn't even like him. He was always bragging and shoving people out of the way, telling big stories that were obviously fake…

"So why do you keep going back?" Draco asked.

"Because I have to. Dummbledore says so." Harry replied, frowning. He knew that he was required to stay at least a month of every year with the Dursleys to renew the ancient magic. This time he had been there for only about twenty-four hours, maybe less. But then, maybe he didn't really need the old magic anymore. Voldemort had taken his blood that day of the Triwizard tournament and now he had the same protection. So what good did it really do for him to stay with the Dursleys and get driven out of his mind? He never had a moment of peace while he was there. They didn't even give him enough to eat. If it weren't for Hermoine and Ron's food packages, he would have starved to death years ago.

"That old idiot?" Draco's eyes widened in surprise that the school's Headmaster was involved. "I don't see why you have to listen to him for. I mean, when we're not in school. Don't you have somewhere else you could stay?"

Harry considered the situation before answering. Draco seemed to be sincere, as hard as that may seem. He remembered that day long ago when Draco had held out his hand so they could be friends and he had turned him down. Besides, the Death Eaters probably already knew all this information so he wouldn't be giving anything away if he answered the question. "Well, I had a Godfather…but he was murdered. I was planning on going to go live with him…"

"I'm sorry." Draco told him. "You seem to have bad luck, Potter."

"Tell me something I don't know…" Harry turned around and leaned his back against the little fence. He watched the various families stroll past and his throat tightened a bit. He had never been brought here by anyone that truly cared about him. A part of him envied those carefree Muggle children running around gleefully, they of the sticky hands and faces as they had no idea a war was being waged or that some of the major participants of that war stood right in front of them. He turned to the blonde boy beside him. "You're lucky, Draco. You have parents that love you."

Draco watched Harry walk away to go sit on a nearby empty bench. His gaze shifted to his Father and thoughts began to roll around in his head.

To be continued…


	3. Amid the Snakes

Symbiosis 3: Amid the Snakes

"Draco?" Lucius said as he approached his son. "You're supposed to be watching Miss Granger, are you not? And where did Potter disappear to? If you let him escape…"

"He's right there, Father." Draco pointed towards the old-fashioned wooden bench on the other side of the path.

"I hope you realize that with all these intertwining paths and crowds of people, it would be all too easy for our guests to vanish. I would be very disappointed if that happened, Draco. And you do know what that would mean, do you not?" Lucius shifted his gaze to Potter, relieved that the boy had not escaped on them.

"Yes, Father. I would be punished." Draco replied.

"Then go watch Granger. I'll take care of Potter." Lucius hurried over to where Harry was resting on the bench and sat down next to him.

Draco panicked for a moment, his heart pounding within his chest, when he didn't see Granger along the fence watching the monkeys. He quickly scanned the surrounding area and a cool wash of relief swept through him when he spotted her bushy head near some Muggle device. He dashed over to her, only narrowly avoiding colliding into a Muggle's baby stroller. Ignoring the Muggle woman's angry words, he joined Hermoine in front of the tall thing. "Thought you'd escape on me, huh Granger?"

"No, of course not!" Hermoine rolled her brown eyes as she pulled Muggle coins from her purse and pushed them into a slot on the machine. "I'm getting us some drinks! And it's a good thing you're here because you can help carry them."

"Drinks?" Draco said, surprised. He studied the smooth fronted machine, observing how Hermoine pressed a certain area. There was a loud click and then a cylindrical device appeared at the bottom. "This thing dispenses pumpkin juice?"

Hermoine laughed as she retrieved the cold can of cola and handed it to Draco. "No, of course not! Don't be silly! Muggles don't drink pumpkin juice. It's a soda machine."

"Soda?" Draco gingerly held the red and white soda can in his hand. "It's cold!"

"Well, it's supposed to be. It wouldn't taste very good warm." She fed more coins to the machine and quickly received three more cans, one of which she handed to Draco. Turning around, she headed for the bench where Harry and Lucius were sitting. "I got us some drinks."

Harry accepted a can from Hermoine and quickly opened it, taking a long swallow. "Thanks, Hermoine."

"Exactly how do you open these things?" Draco asked as he wordlessly handed one to his father.

"It's very simple." Hermoine held her can so both Malfoys could see how it was done. "You stick your thumb under this tab and pull up. See? It opened. Just don't shake the can or you'll be sorry!"

Draco opened his can and cautiously peered within the little hole and saw a dark liquid sloshing around inside. He glanced at his father, unsure if he should taste the stuff. "Father?"

Lucius had also opened his can and took a cautious sip. "We did agree to give them the weekend. I suppose that includes trying Muggle drinks. It doesn't appear to be alcoholic so you may drink it if you wish."

After making certain both Harry and Hermoine were drinking their drinks, Draco moved the can to his mouth to take a small sip. He was quite surprised when bubbles from the drink hit him in the nose, causing a strange sensation. He snorted, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. "Something hit me in the nose."

"It's carbonated." Hermoine explained. "It has air bubbles in it."

"Muggles put air bubbles in their drinks? Are you serious, Granger?" Draco drawled, his lip curling into a sneer. "Why in the world would anyone do a stupid thing like that?"

"It tastes better that way." Hermoine jumped up from the bench and grabbed Draco by his free arm. "Come on! Let's go look at more animals!"

"I swear, Granger. You're getting more hyper from this stuff…" Soda can in hand; Draco was dragged into the nearby reptile house. He looked with interest at the huge snakes that rested on the other side of the glass. "Well, I suppose this place isn't too bad. At least they have my house emblem here. Do they have yours, Granger?"

"Lions? Of course!" Hermoine stared at a huge python that had draped itself across a branch. A little shiver went down her spine as she noticed how thick its coils were. Pythons squeezed their prey to death. They were silent and deadly. Unlike the American rattler, which warned with a sound, you didn't know a python was around until it dropped onto you from a tree above. Her eyes shifted to the reflection of the Malfoys in the glass and she couldn't help but notice the similarities between them and the snake before them. Although they were behaving for the moment and sometimes even seemed friendly, she had to remind herself that at any moment they could be just as deadly as the snake. In a way, she was playing roulette with them; her and Harry's life as the prize. She didn't really want to think of what might happen when the weekend was up.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Draco remarked in his lazy drawl, his gray eyes fastened to her face.

"Beautiful things are often deadly." She remarked, her eyes still on the snake.

"Of course, I'm more beautiful than the snake. Don't you agree?" He watched her face carefully.

"Oh, please!" Hermoine rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. The little ferret could be so annoying at times!

Draco smiled, pleased with himself. He eagerly followed her to the next display; which held even more snakes. He inched up next to her until their shoulders were touching. "You're just jealous, Granger."

"You're lucky that I don't strangle you!" She threatened, her brown eyes flashing in the dark room.

"Oh, such emotion! I didn't know you cared." Draco's smile widened to reveal perfect teeth. Boldly, he pushed her a bit farther. "Besides, you wouldn't really strangle me. You're a Gryffindor, all honor and noble. Gryffindors aren't allowed to do dirty deeds like us Slytherins."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you." Hermoine replied mysteriously. Her gaze shifted off the snakes in the cage to her best friend. Harry stood looking in at the big python that they had just left, Lucius next to him. "Some of us Gryffindors have a little bit of Slytherin in us as well."

Draco's gaze followed hers and the sneer returned. "I still can't believe people thought he was the heir to Slytherin. Although I suppose that's just more of his bad luck. He seems to have loads of it…"

"You know what you're problem is?" Hermoine poked a finger onto his chest. "You're problem is that you're jealous!"

"Jealous?" Draco laughed. "You got to be kidding! You think I want to go walking around with a scar on my face or have someone wanting to kill me?"

"You're jealous of all the attention Harry gets!" Hermoine poked the finger harder into his chest. "He's always in the spotlight and that bothers you. Well, Harry doesn't want all the attention! It's forced on him and he hates it! He'd gladly give it all up to be just a normal boy going to school, but he can't. If you'd be nicer and not such a mean little git shoving people out of the way and boasting, he'd gladly share all the unwanted attention with you."

"Really? You playing physiatrist now, Granger?" Draco's gray eyes darkened and hardened, his pale cheeks becoming flushed. "So tell me, does that mean he's jealous of me, too? Hmmm? My wealth, superior grooming and good looks?"

"Oh, of course he is!" She fumed. "But he doesn't care about the money or the good looks! If you knew him better, you'd know that!"

"I'm not stupid, Granger!" Draco snarled as he gripped her hand and pulled it off his chest. "I know he won the Triwizard tournament for the money!"

"He gave that money away! He wanted not one knut of it!"

The anger on his face faded to confusion. "Then why's he jealous?"

"Oh, you are so dense!" Hermoine gripped him by the shirt and hauled him farther away from Harry and Lucius. Shoving Draco up against the glass of a display, she whispered the answer. "You have parents and he doesn't!"

"Back to that again?" Draco's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing her words. "And that's why we've been fighting all these years?"

"You also have a bad habit of always saying the wrong thing!" She pointed out.

"You don't think I'm witty?" A faint smile played upon his lips while a twinkle danced in his eyes. "Admit it, Granger, I'm funny."

Hermoine's mind whirled. She wasn't sure if they could really convince Lucius to like Muggles within a single weekend, but perhaps there was another possibility; another way out of this disaster. The incident during the third year with Buckbeak strongly suggested that Lucius did care for Draco quite strongly. Therefore it might also be possible that Draco had some measure of control over his father. If they could get Draco on their side, then perhaps they had a slim chance of actually surviving this. "Look, do you want to be friends with Harry? This weekend would be the perfect chance."

"You're serious?" he asked, thinking back to the short conversation he had had with Potter by the monkeys. It had been the first real conversation the two of them had ever had without butting heads.

"Yes, I'm serious!"

Draco thought of being friends with Potter and joining the Dream Team. The idea had merit. In fact, that had been one of his Father's previous orders, one that he had miserably failed at. Of course, he never really understood why Potter had turned down his offer of friendship. But Granger seemed to understand exactly what made the Boy Who Lived tick. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and pictured himself waltzing around Hogwarts with that famous Dream Team; actually being a member of that exclusive cliché. He would be part of the action instead of hearing about it the next day. His fame would only soar higher. He would be in the spotlight. Draco opened his eyes and gazed into Hermoine's brown ones. "All right, sure. I'd like to be his friend but do you really think he'll want to be mine?"

"We'll work on that. Just do what I say and please watch your mouth!"

Harry stared at the giant python, depressed. He still wasn't over the fact that Sirius was dead, which is part of the reason he had cooperated with the Malfoy's kidnapping plan. He had been happy, so happy. Finally he wouldn't have to live with the Dursleys anymore. But the happy future he had envisioned had came crashing down that fateful day in the Department of Mysteries. Now he was like the snake before him, trapped in a cage. Even if he managed to escape on Lucius, Dummbledore would just send him back to the Dursleys. He idly wondered if his aunt and uncle had gotten in trouble with the school's Headmaster. He hoped so. They deserved it for literally pushing him right into Lucius Malfoy's arms. The simple truth of the matter was, they were glad he was gone.

_Draco is right. I DO have bad luck. Anyone who loves me ends up dead._

"Harry!" Hermoine said as she tugged on his arm. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked, glancing up at his friend. Just past Hermoine's shoulder he saw Draco drinking soda and idly gazing into another snake cage.

Hermoine's brown eyes narrowed, shifting from him to the thick python in the glass-fronted display. "Harry, no! You better not be thinking of letting that thing loose like last time! We have enough of snakes to worry about, if you get my meaning."

"I'm just like that snake, Hermoine. Trapped."

"And I have a solution to that." She whispered to Harry, her eyes on Lucius. The senior Malfoy stood next to Harry, an amused look on his face. Speaking louder, she boldly stared into his eyes. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"

"Of course." He smiled sweetly. He watched as the girl pulled Potter several feet away and started talking animatedly, her arms waving about. Keeping his eyes on them, he joined his son. "Isn't is amusing, Draco? They are no doubt trying to plan an escape attempt."

Draco finished draining his can of cola. He felt energized; like he could take on the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team by himself! He didn't ever remember feeling this way before and he tried to read the writing on the can to see what the Muggles had put into the strange drink, but it was too dark inside the reptile building to make out the words. He glanced up at his father. "Yes, I suppose they are. Tell me, Father, what do you make of this odd Muggle drink?"

Lucius blinked his eyes, and then stared down at the red and white can in his hand. It felt surprisingly light. He shook it slightly and was quite surprised to discover it was empty! Had he actually drank the entire contents of the metal can? "Well, it has made me feel … younger, like I have a lot of energy."

"That's how I feel, too!" Draco smiled.

"Perhaps Muggles are good for a few things…" Lucius tried to study the can and moved closer to the open door that led outside. Being a Malfoy, he didn't care that he was blocking the exit or that frustrated Muggles had to squeeze past him. The dirty looks that were cast his way were ignored. Secretly, they made his heart soar for he was a Slytherin and annoying people pleased Slytherins. The tiny print on the side of the can was incredibly hard to read. He squinted, shifting the shiny container this way and that. But when the words came into focus, he growled with frustration. They were meaningless, incredibly long words that made absolutely no sense to him at all! "Darn Muggles! They are using a secret code for this energy potion!"

While Lucius had been reading the ingredients of Coke, Draco had kept his gray eyes glued to Harry and Hermoine. "Father, I think we should force Granger to buy us more of this drink!"

"Yes, yes. You are right, Draco." Lucius tucked the empty can into his robe pocket for further study later. Perhaps Snape could help with some of those fifteen and twenty letter words… "This stuff will be good for when I'm at work and bored to death with tedious scroll-work."

Across the room, Hermoine was having an intense discussion with Harry.

"I'm not going to be friends with HIM, Hermoine! We've hated each other since the first day of school all those years ago!" Harry protested, his green eyes so dark they almost looked black. He reached out and gripped her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes with concern. "What's wrong with you, Hermoine? Are they controlling you with the Imperious Curse? Is that it? Because you've been acting funny ever since I met you earlier today. You're getting too chummy with Malfoy and his father. I don't like it."

"No one's controlling me!" She protested. "I'm just trying to think of a way out of this! And I think it'll really work!"

"I doubt it…" Harry mumbled.

"Do you want me to explain it to you again?" Hermoine asked, certain her plan was really brilliant.

"No, I understood the first time." Harry replied as he watched the Malfoys out of the corner of his eye. "You think if we get friendly with Draco, then Draco will influence his Father so we don't get turned over to Voldemort. You're forgetting what a mean, sorry excuse for a person Lucius is. He's a Death Eater and an escaped convict! He's murdered people, Hermoine. I still have the bruises from when he leaped on my back in the Department of Mysteries."

"So you're not going to give them a chance?" She asked.

"No!"

"And you're just going to let Draco grow up to be a Death Eater?" She asked, disapproval in her voice. "You don't think his life is worth saving? You're just going to let the ranks of the Death Eaters swell with people from our generation? You'll let Draco be sent to Azkaban someday when you could have prevented it?"

"What do you expect me to do?" Harry asked, flinging his arms out wide. "I'm just a kid! I have my own problems! My Godfather just was murdered, my Uncle threw me out and I've been kidnapped by a prison escapee! And what are we doing? We're waltzing around the zoo like we're some sort of bizarre family! This whole thing is totally insane!"

"Then why don't you try to escape?"

"It's no use, Hermoine." Harry sighed, depressed. "It's like I was saying before: I'm like that snake in the cage. If I ever managed to escape from Lucius, Dummbledore will just send me back to the Dursleys. And as crazy as it sounds, right now I'm better off where I am."

"So are you going to help save him?" She persisted. "It's the right thing to do and you know it! You just can't go and kill Voldemort. There's more to it then that, I'm sure. You have to cut him off from his followers. It'll make things easier on you in the long run."

Harry hung onto his forehead, and then ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I suppose you're right. But how do we know he'll cooperate? He's always thought he was better than us."

"Because I already talked to him about it and he agreed! But we'll have to teach him how to be friends. If I'm not mistaken, he's never had a real friend in his life." Hermoine smiled at him and then gave him a tight hug. "I'm proud of you, Harry. It's not easy to overcome old habits or to turn an enemy into a friend. But you'll see, it'll be worth it in the end."

Harry stared at her fearfully. "You're not going to ask me to be friends with Lucius as well, are you?"

"Well, we DO need to work on him…"

Harry moaned and collapsed against the nearest glass display, one hand pressed to his head. The day was rapidly turning into a living nightmare!

"Hey Granger!" Draco said as he came up from behind her. "Give me some of those Muggle coins. Father and I are thirsty again."

Hermoine looked at him in surprise, then reached into her purse. "Are you sure you can work the soda machine?"

"I'm not a baby, Granger! Of course I can!" Draco took the offered coins, pausing. "You want another drink, Hermoine?"

"Yes, please. That would be sweet of you, Draco." She grinned at him.

"Potter?" Draco asked.

"Please. I need one badly." Harry replied, hand still on his head. His dark hair was sticking up every which way.

Draco shook his head, not understanding why Potter always looked such a mess. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere!"

"I have no intention of going anywhere." Harry assured him. He watched Draco leave with the coins, speak to Lucius briefly and then vanish out into the bright sunlight. The moment the silky haired blonde was gone; Harry straightened himself up and pushed away from the glass window. He gripped Hermoine by her arm tightly. "Do you realize what you've done? You got both of them hooked on caffeine!"

Hermoine giggled.

"It's not funny! They're bad the way it is and now with caffeine…!"

"So we'll get them addicted to a few other Muggle foods as well. Do you think they ever ate popcorn?" Hermoine looked serious, one finger on chin as she considered the foods available at the zoo. "Perhaps later we should take them to see a movie. What do you think?"

"I guess…" Harry shrugged. He turned around just in time to see Draco hurry into the building with his arms full of cold soda cans. Lucius removed one and popped it open, taking a long drink. Draco headed their way and Harry accepted one of the icy cans, Hermoine taking another. Harry was actually surprised that the Slytherin had offered to get the cans himself instead of ordering either him or Hermoine to do it instead. Perhaps he did want to be friends. He gave Draco a tentative smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." Draco replied as he popped open his can. "What do they put in these energy potions?"

"A lot of stuff that's bad for you." Harry replied. "If you drink too much of it you'll either end up looking like my cousin Dudley or my Uncle Vernon. That or you'll end up in St. Mungo's a nervous wreck."

Draco gazed at the innocent looking can in his hand. "Nah! That'll never happen!"

They left the reptile building and Hermoine bought each of them boxes of popcorn from a red-and-gold wheeled popcorn wagon. The sign said they were coming up on Africa and Hermoine very much wanted to see the big cats. If she remembered correctly, the lions should just be ahead around the next turn. A loud roar split the air and she shivered with excitement. Jazzed up with caffeine, she raced ahead, her bushy brown hair bounced on her shoulders.

Harry took off after her.

"They're making a break for it!" Lucius cried, almost choking on his popcorn. He started to run after the Gryffindors, greasy popcorn spilling out of the red-and-white striped box he had tucked between his body and his forearm. Truth be told, the Death Eater didn't have enough hands to hold his cane, a soda can and a box of popcorn. The icy reddish-brown drink splashed up on his hand and the sleeve of his robe; he didn't care. He was determined to catch the two teens and not let them escape. The girl was very diabolical, filling his hands first with Muggle food items before attempting the escape! Why, it was worthy of a Slytherin. He watched them speed around the corner up ahead, the view blocked by thick green shrubbery and towering trees.

Draco ran alongside his father and soon passed him up, his robes flying out behind him.

Lucius watched Draco disappear behind the turn up ahead and then he had reached it, too. Running at full speed, he collided into the chain-link fence that kept guests out of the lion enclosure. Upon hitting the fence, the aluminum soda can was instantly crushed, the cold sticky liquid flying all over the Death Eater's fine clothes. The little remaining popcorn also went flying. He backed up a step and swayed uncertainly on his feet. His face and nose hurt from where he had ran into the fence and he hoped he didn't possess crisscrossed shapes on his face now. That would be embarrassing. Even more embarrassing was the fact that the two teen Gryffindors were standing along the fence staring at him with puzzled looks. They hadn't been trying to escape at all!

Hermoine came over and gently took his arm. "Are you all right, Mr. Malfoy? You should sit down and rest. There's a nice bench right over there."

Lucius allowed himself to be led over to the bench. He lowered himself to the wooden seat and accepted the paper napkin she handed him. Lucius watched her hurry back to the fence to look at the lions. Glancing down at himself, he saw his clothes were a mess! Not only were they soaked with soda but bits of popcorn was stuck to him as well. And were those grease stains? He hoped Narcissa had a strong cleaning spell the house elves could use. Disgusted, he swiped at the stains with the napkin. Almost instantly the napkin became wet and started to shred. Lucius fumed, his pale cheeks turning red. Not only was he wet and grease stained, but now he had tiny bits of white paper stuck all over his clothes as well! He slapped at the paper bits with his free hand but most refused to come off.

What in Merlin had he been thinking when he had decided to kidnap Gryffindor teenagers? "They're worst than Voldemort and Dummbledore combined!"

For a brief moment he even considered returning Potter to the Muggle household where he had found him, then moaned when he remembered what the fat Muggle had shouted. At the moment, he really hadn't been paying attention to the Muggle's words. Why should he? He had been overjoyed and thrilled that his incredibly simple plan had worked! It was so incredibly dumb and stupid that no one had tried it before. Although Muggles lived in the house, Dummbledore had it protected by spells and wards. It was virtually impossible for Death Eaters to break in and snatch the boy. So he had decided on a simple ruse … and it had worked! But perhaps it had worked too well…

It was obvious the Muggle man was all too happy to get rid of Potter. Lucius had never stopped to think why. Now he was beginning to wonder why.

"I must be more careful in the future." Lucius vowed to himself. "Stupid Muggles, putting fences just around a corner! A person could kill themselves…"

"Excuse me," Hermoine said as she held out a plastic Muggle-style comb to him. "But you have popcorn in your hair. Do you know that?"

Grumbling under his breath, Lucius snatched the comb angrily and started to comb out the popcorn.

Hermoine joined Harry and Draco at the fence. "Your father is in a really awful mood."

"Running into a fence would do that." Draco himself had almost hit the fence but he had managed to stop just in time. His father, on the other hand, hadn't been that lucky. Still, Draco had to admit he was enjoying his trip to the Muggle zoo. Perhaps he and Harry might even become friends.

To be continued…


	4. Lions and Polar Bears

Symbiosis 6

Hermoine stood between Harry and Draco as she watched the lions through the fence. Three cute and fuzzy lion cubs tumbled together on the grass, playing. They were still young enough to have dark spots amid their tawny fur. "They are so cute!"

"They are kind of cute." Draco admitted.

"Lions live in prides, in family groups." Hermoine stated as she threw one arm around Harry's shoulder and drew him close. The other arm wrapped around Draco's shoulders and drew him close as well.

"Hey!" Draco squawked, surprised. He hadn't expected her to hug him and certainly not in public.

"You better get used to it," Harry advised the Slytherin. "She's always hugging me or Ron."

"We can be just like those cute little lions and have a pride of our own!" Hermoine happily said, a smile on her face. "Lions spend their entire life in a pride, you know, unlike snakes who are solitary."

Lucius silently snuck up on the three teens from behind. Their behavior since they arrived at the Muggle zoo has been strange, to say the least. He had been sure Potter and Granger had been trying to escape but they had only dashed ahead to look at lions. Odd. And now Granger was hugging his son and blabbing nonsense about being in a pride…Gryffindors! Satisfied that his appearance had been restored to his high standards, he forced an innocent smile onto his face. Potter, of course, knew him better than to be fooled by a fake smile but still, they were only children. And any good villain knew you got more with sugar than with vinegar. He wasn't exactly sure what this pride business was about, but perhaps he should go along with it for the moment. "And do I get to be in this pride?"

"Of course!" Hermoine replied. Just then the father lion appeared from within a man-made cave and settled onto the grass under a tree, his thick red mane blowing in the warm breeze. He watched his cubs play and chase each other across the grassy expanse. Satisfied that all was well, he propped his head upon a paw and closed his eyes.

"I do?" Lucius blinked, surprised.

"Yes." Hermoine repeated. "Definitely."

"Oh." Lucius gazed at the bushy haired teenager. "And may I inquire as to what a pride is?"

"It's a group of lions." Hermoine explained for the second time, her arms still wrapped around Harry and Draco.

Harry's green eyes stared at the lions, them suddenly widened as a flash went off in his head. But it was a totally crazy thought! Surely his best friend would never think up such an idea! "Hermoine, surely you're not suggesting that…"

Her arm tightened around his neck, almost choking him. "It's perfect!"

"It's totally crazy!" Harry protested as he allowed his head to be pulled down onto Hermoine's shoulder. His mouth near her ear, he whispered. "And it's dangerous!"

"Don't be silly. It'll work out fine." Hermoine replied her voice filled with confidence. Anyway, she was pretty sure it'd be fine. Maybe.

Lucius watched the exchange between the two Gryffindors with interest, still slightly confused. Could they perhaps be talking in some secret code? "You wish us to be a group of … lions?"

"Yes." Hermoine turned around to face Lucius, forcing the two boys to turn around as well. "Shall we go eat lunch? I do believe there's some nice picnic tables up ahead along with hot food."

He nodded, still not sure what was going on.

Hermoine released the two boys and started towards the picnic area. If they were lucky, there would be an empty table. She quickly checked her watch and saw it was almost two PM. Within a few hours the zoo would be closing and they still hadn't seen everything.

Harry rubbed his slightly sore neck, winching. His friend's hair-brained schemes were going to get him into deeper trouble with the Malfoys! He was about to head after Hermoine when Lucius blocked his path.

"Tell me, Potter, what this pride business is about." Lucius demanded, his long fingers idly running along the cane his wand was hidden within. "Is this another idea so she can save her precious Muggles?"

"Umm, no." Harry muttered nervously as his mind whirled around. Then he stared Lucius in the eye bravely. "It's a Gryffindor thing. I'm sure you wouldn't understand."

"So you came to look at your House mascot? How sweet and touching." Lucius allowed Harry to pass him, and then he and Draco followed. A few minutes later they found themselves staring at a pale pink plastic table that had a huge open umbrella above it. The table itself was round and made from a smooth plastic that Muggles seemed to love. The umbrella itself was green and white stripped.

Draco sneered at the table. "Surely you don't expect us to sit there, do you?"

Lucius also stared uncertainly for a moment at the table, then shrugged. He sat down at the table across from Hermoine. "Well, Draco, this place is run by Muggles. It's bound to be different than what we're used to. But you are getting an education, I hope."

Seeing that his father accepted the table, Draco slid onto the plastic bench next to Hermoine. "So, Granger, what exactly do they serve here?"

"Well, it's not exactly what we get at school…" Hermoine admitted. She had already checked out the menu that was posted next to the building that served the food. The building had four open windows where one could purchase cooked meals. The dining area was totally outside with about twenty tables with umbrellas. Restrooms were located on the other side of the building. "Mainly its food that can be quickly cooked. Simple stuff like hot dogs and French fries…"

"Dogs?" Draco asked, shocked. "I didn't know Muggles resort to eating dogs."

Harry smirked.

"You think that's funny, do you?" Draco glared at Potter, forgetting for the moment they were supposed to be friends. "Although I suppose you're used to eating dogs…"

"I'm afraid my cousin Dudley eats all the dogs." Harry teased the blonde Slytherin. "If I'm lucky my Aunt may be generous and give me a quarter of a grapefruit."

Draco stared at Potter. "And this Dudley, he really eats dogs?"

"OH, there's no dog meat in a hot dog! Harry is just teasing you!" Hermoine rolled her brown eyes. "A hot dog is made out of chicken or beef, along with a few other things. They cook it and put it in a bun. Then you can add relish or catsup or mustard."

"Well, I'd like a hamburger." Harry told her, his mouth watering at the rare summer treat. He eyed the Death Eater next to him and briefly wondered if the man was enjoying his visit to the zoo.

Hermoine sighed, and then went into the explanation. "A hamburger is a cooked patty of beef on a bun. It can include cheese, catsup, mustard, pickle, onions, tomatoes…"

After a short discussion, it was decided that they would all have hamburgers with French fries. Hermoine left the table and got into the line of people waiting to buy food.

"So," Lucius said as he shifted on the plastic bench to better look at Harry. "What is this pride thing really about? I'm sure it's more than you two looking at your House mascot."

Harry stared at the older man. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course," Lucius replied. "Why else would I ask?"

"Well, I think she kind of wants us all to be friends…" Harry finally admitted, feeling totally stupid saying such a thing to a Death Eater. Surely the man didn't believe in things like friendship or loyalty. "Like a pride of lions."

"Like a family." Lucius corrected, very much aware that Harry's family had in fact thrown him out. "Tell me, Harry, why was the Muggle so eager to hand you over?"

Harry stared at the smooth top of the table, unsure if he even wanted to tell such personal things to his kidnapper. And not to any kidnapper but to Lucius Malfoy, the one who had owned that dangerous, crazy house elf! He glanced up towards the long line at the tiny restaurant but to his dismay saw that Hermoine wouldn't be returning any time soon. The man was too nosey and asked too many prying questions. He sighed, knowing that he'd have to give some sort of answer. He lifted his head and boldly stared in Lucius' blue-gray eyes. "You want to know why? Well, I'll tell you. My Uncle was glad to throw me out because I'm a troublemaker. OK? Like the time I dropped a cake on a dinner guest's head. Except it wasn't really me but your stupid house elf that did it and I got blamed! Of course, Muggles can't see house elves and my Uncle wouldn't believe me anyway because I'm abnormal. So I got bars on my bedroom window and about ten padlocks on the bedroom door so I can't even use the bathroom during the night because I'm not to be trusted. I'm not even trusted with the mail. The school had sent over a thousand letters and my Uncle kept burning them in the fireplace. What else? Oh, my Uncle hates owls because they make sounds and I can't do my summer homework because my Uncle has a No Magic rule, which means I resort to doing it in the middle of the night under the blanket, which resorts in my Uncle checking on me every five minutes and then I have to pretend I'm asleep and it's driving me crazy! No wonder I blew up my other Aunt a few years ago…"

Both Lucius and Draco were staring at him in shock.

"You blew up your Aunt?" Lucius finally asked after a long moment of silence.

Harry nodded. "She deserved it. They don't send you to Azkaban for blowing up family members, you know."

"And do you really have bars on your bedroom window?" Draco asked, still not believing that the famous Potter could have such a horrible family life.

"I did," Harry admitted. "Until the Weasleys pulled them off with a flying car and my Uncle fell out the window. Of course, he survived the fall thanks to the shrubbery."

"Why Harry, you really surprise me." Lucius finally stated. "I didn't think a Gryffindor would have the guts to blow someone up. That's very … admirable."

Harry just stared at Lucius.

"Tell me, Harry, have you done any other things of that nature? You know, things you really shouldn't be doing?" Lucius asked, interested to hear the answer. This little detour to the zoo was becoming far more fascinating that he had ever dreamed it could be.

"Well, I break school rules all the time." Harry uncomfortably admitted.

"Really? Which ones?"

"Well, I roam the halls after hours," Harry started. "I've been in the Forbidden Section, sneak out of the castle at night to visit Hagrid, been in the Forbidden Forest on my own, snuck to Hogsmeade when I wasn't supposed to, done spells I wasn't supposed to, been in other Houses common rooms, spied on people, need I continue?"

Lucius gawked at him dumbfounded.

"Does … does Dummbledore know you do all those things?" Draco finally asked.

"Of course." Harry replied. "He gave me a reward for some of it…"

Draco's bottom jaw dropped open.

"Oh!" Harry smiled at the senior Malfoy. "I forgot to say I stole a car my Second year. That's Grand Theft Auto. The car ran into the Forbidden Forest and we never did get it back. Me and Ron, I mean."

Lucius' mouth hung open in utter surprise.

"Hey!" Hermoine joined them at the table, placing a heavy tray of food and drink in front of them. She quickly handed out the hamburgers, containers of French fries and big plastic cups of cold soda. "What's going on?"

"Oh, I was just confessing all my illegal activities." Harry said as he eagerly unwrapped his hamburger and took a bit bite.

Draco snapped out of his state of shock, the delicious aromas of hot food reaching his nose. Sure, he knew Potter did a few things like sneaking out to see Hagrid, but some of the revelations were totally new. And he had to admit; he admired Potter for a few of them. Sneaking into the Forbidden Section was worthy of a Slytherin! He carefully examined the food that Hermoine had placed in front of him. Picking up a fry, he bit the tip off and cautiously chewed. The thing tasted pretty well and so he settled down to eat.

"Oh, were you?" Hermoine asked. She smiled at Draco as she watched him eat the French fries. "They taste even better if you add some catsup."

Hermoine handed Draco a few plastic pouches of catsup, then shifted her attention back to Harry. "Did you say how we stole potion ingredients from Snape's office our Second Year?"

"No, I didn't," Harry said as he tore open a package of catsup and squeezed it out onto his fries. "Because you stole it, not me."

Lucius looked from Harry to Hermoine. "But … but your Gryffindors!"

"Oh, I'm a bad influence on her." Harry admitted. "So it's not totally her fault."

"You better eat your food before it gets cold." Hermoine pointed at Lucius' food, reminding the elder Slytherin that it was there. "And yes, we are Gryffindors. So we have established that some Gryffindors have a bit of Slytherin in them. The question is, do you have a bit of Gryffindor in you?"

"What?" Lucius asked, taken aback by the unexpected question. He picked up his hamburger and started to unwrap it, just so he would have something to do. He really hadn't expected them to be so forward in admitting things, especially illegal things. "What do you mean?"

"Well, are you brave? Gryffindors have bravery…" Hermoine innocently stated.

"Of course I'm brave!" Lucius replied as he took a bite out of the Muggle sandwich, chewing. "I certainly wasn't scared to go wrap at that Muggle's door now, was I? I seem to remember you cowering behind me."

Hermoine just smiled, letting the remark slide past. "All right, so you're brave, but what about friendship? Gryffindors also value friendship. It's why lions live in prides you know. They value family and friendship."

"If I wouldn't know better, I'd say you're trying to turn me into a Gryffindor." Lucius stared at Hermoine, thinking she was the cleverest witch of her age.

"Oh, don't be silly. You can't turn a snake into a lion!" Hermoine laughed as she took a long sip of her soda. "But there's nothing wrong with sharing traits from two Houses now, is there? And there's certainly nothing wrong with friendship between Houses. Slytherin and Gryffindor used to be friends, you know. In fact, things work out better if people who are different work together because each has different talents and when put together, it makes a much better whole, if you know what I mean? By the way, where are we going to stay for the night?"

Lucius blinked.

"Well, if you remember you kind of captured us," Hermoine pointed out. "While I certainly could go home, Harry certainly can't. His Uncle thinks you took him for the summer."

"You'll stay in my home, of course." Lucius stated. "I'll not have you sneaking off home after the trouble I went through to get you."

"You do realize that you're responsible for him for the summer now, don't you?" Hermoine asked as she picked up her hamburger. "I'm sure Dummbledore knows where we are. It's actually sweet of you taking us to the zoo like this, don't you think? Here we are sitting at a table like a real family. And like a real family, I think we should go see a movie later. There's one playing now that looks really good. You'll like it. It has lots of magic in it."

Lucius was unsure of what to say, so he remained silent. Somehow the Muggle-born had maneuvered him into the position of being responsible for Potter! Why, it was almost like he had three kids. How in the name of Merlin did he get into this mess? He just wanted to kidnap Potter, not become the boy's father! So he decided to concentrate on eating his food for the moment.

The odd thing was, he was beginning to like the two sneaky, rule-breaking Gryffindors.

After they finished eating, the group left the eating area and headed towards the polar bears. Draco, Hermoine and Harry stood by the metal fence watching the thickly furred mammals. According to Hermoine's schedule, soon it would be feeding time for the great artic beasts. They stood close together and waited. Mr. Malfoy stood a distance behind them, uninterested in watching bears eat.

Lucius was beginning to wonder who was in charge, he or the Gryffindors he had captured. He was supposed to be in charge but then how did he end up being responsible for Potter? He didn't want to be responsible for Potter! He just wanted to kidnap him so he could hand him over to the Dark Lord to get the whole sticky mess over with and then they could continue on with eliminating Mudbloods…

That IS what he wanted, wasn't it?

"Of course," Lucius muttered under his breath as he trailed after the three teens. "That's before I found out how much like a Slytherin he is. The boy has potential, perhaps more potential than the Dark Lord."

A shocked expression appeared on his face, his blood running cold despite the warm sun shining down on him. Surely he hadn't just said that, had he? Why, the Dark Lord could kill him for such an offense! He certainly has killed others for much less.

"I'm letting that Muggle-born affect my thinking." He told himself. "She is trying to outsmart me, to contaminate how I think! It's what this whole outing, this entire weekend, is about. She thinks she can get me to be lovey-dovey…"

The thought twisted his stomach.

No, Slytherins were NOT lovey-dovey. They thrived on treachery, crookedness, scheming and all sorts of dark dastardly plans. Yes, a Slytherin's heart was dark, dark as a moonless sky without stars. That's not to say he didn't love or care for his own son. Draco meant the world to him for he was his heir and someday would carry on the Malfoy name. But just because he loved Draco didn't mean he had to love others. And certainly not Potter!

"The boy is not my responsibility!" Lucius firmly told himself. He stood a distance behind the three teens as they watched the polar bears. "He is not related to me at all! Just because that fat Muggle was dumb enough to hand him over means nothing. I signed no papers…"

He uneasily glanced around. The girl's statement that the old fool knew where they were had him spooked. Did Dummbledore really know? Surely the Muggle zoo would be the last place they would look for an Azkaban escapee! Had they put a tracking device on his carriage? He hadn't noticed any unfamiliar spells but one could never tell these days. Perhaps it was a good thing he had taken the kids to the zoo. The Ministry of Magic was very unlikely to allow the dangerous creatures to enter the zoo. No, there was the chance of too many Muggles getting hurt or attacked by the living ripped rags. He shuddered as he remembered the affect they had had upon him. It had truly been miserable and he never wanted to go back there again.

Yet he was a prison escapee.

How was he to return home with the Ministry looking for him? Even if he did have secret rooms in the Malfoy Manor, who is to say that the Ministry wouldn't find them?

For once he wished that he wasn't so honest and noble. The Malfoys kept their word. They were, after all, nobility. Even if he was a prison escapee didn't mean he could break the family code. Of course, most Death Eaters didn't care about lying. They'd lie right to your face and stab you in the back as soon as they could. The thought sickened him but what could he do? Some people had no honor and would do anything at all to reach their goals. He just happened to share some of the same goals with scruple less people, that's all. So now he here was stuck for three whole days of learning about stupid Muggles!

Yes, the hamburger had tasted good, as did the fizzy drink. But why in the world was he getting so jumpy? He really doubted if the Ministry would find him here.

An old man with a long white beard moved to stand next to him. The man looked out of place in his purple T-shirt and black pants. He happily chewed a mouth of salty popcorn, and then swallowed. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Lucius did a double take. Those half moon eyeglasses… "Albus?"

"Lucius." Dummbledore replied. "It was nice of you to take the children to the zoo. The fresh air and exercise will do them good. But I do believe we have a few matters to discuss."

The senior Malfoy was quite dumbstruck. Just seeing Albus Dummbledore wearing Muggle clothing was shocking! His eyes scanned the surrounding crowd trying to spot more hidden agents from the Ministry. No doubt aurors would be here ready to grab him and haul him back to that dreadful place! Just because he couldn't spot them among the Muggle families didn't mean they weren't there. "How … how did you find us?"

"Oh, it was quite simple really," Dummbledore admitted as he reached into the red-and-white striped box for another kernel of popcorn. "Harry has a rather unique magical signature."

"And?" Lucius nervously asked, still unsure why he was so jumpy. When he had been arrested and sentenced to Azkaban he had been very calm. His nerves were made of still and although he may get angry from time to time and loose his temper, he certainly wasn't one of those nervous wrecks. So what was causing this unusual anxiety?

"Like I said we have a few matters to discuss." Dummbledore mysteriously stated. The Headmaster's eyes flickered to the three teens that were still watching the polar bears. The zoo employees had just feed them a bucket of fish and the kids watched wide-eyed as the large carnivores feasted on the fresh bounty from the sea. It was quite a sight and one you didn't see all that often in person. "I find it interesting that out of all the places you could have dragged our young Mr. Potter you decided to come here. May I enquire why that is? I would have assumed as a Pureblood you would have avoided the London Zoo as if it were the Black Death."

Lucius considered his options. He could attempt to flee and leave his son behind. It may be the Slytherin thing to flee for one's own life but as a parent it was his duty to care for Draco. He certainly couldn't leave him here alone with these Gryffindors. That left the second choice, telling the old man the truth, far better to swallow his pride then to get struck down by aurors hidden in the crowds. He held his head high and gazed into Dummbledore's eyes. "No matter what you may think I still have my honor. I made a deal with Miss Granger and I intend to uphold it."

"Aaahhh." Dummbledore said as he gazed back at the Death Eater. "And that deal is?"

"That they have three days to convince me to like Muggles." Lucius spitted out. "It was Potter's idea to come here."

"Yes, his Uncle brought him here once." Dummbledore simply said as he chewed another piece of popcorn. "I think you will find most Muggles are not all that bad really. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule. I do believe you met Harry's uncle? A most callous Muggle I dare say who hates our kind as much as you dislike Muggles. I have already spoken to Mr. Dursley as to what transpired earlier today. I do believe he mistook you for one of the Weasleys."

"What!" Lucius cried, insulted.

"Yes. Mr. Dursley had the unfortunate incident of having his fireplace destroyed by one of the Weasley's just before the Quidditch World Cup. It's incidents like that that cause bad relations and misunderstanding between our two societies." Dummbledore continued to say. "Needless to say the Dursleys treat Harry horrendously out of fear and jealousy, mostly fear. And as you saw, they are quite happy to hand the poor boy over to anyone who shows up on their doorstep asking. Surely you would never do such a thing to your own son, would you?"

"Of course not!" Lucius replied, a bit confused as to why they were discussing the Muggle family and not snapping magical cuffs around his wrists. "Exactly where is this discussion going? Do you expect me to repent for snatching the boy?"

Dummbledore's eyes flickered to where Potter stood with Hermoine and Draco. "He seems happy enough to me."

Lucius stared at the old man in confusion. "And?"

"I have been considering the matter for some time…"

"What matter?" Lucius sighed in irritation. "Why must you always beat around the bush and hint at things instead of just saying what's on your mind?"

"Why, the matter of where Harry will live." Dummbledore explained as if it were as clear as a freshly washed pane of glass. "I have made many mistakes in regards to our young Mr. Potter, too many I'm afraid. Does that surprise you?"

Lucius could feel his stomach tie itself in knots. It didn't bode well that Dummbledore was admitting his mistakes, oh no. That was a very bad sign. All his Slytherin warning systems were screaming loud and clear but all he could do was listen to the old man talk. "And why are you telling me?"

"Then we have something in common, do we not?"

"You are referring to why I was sent to Azkaban?" Lucius asked, certain that were it.

"Of course." Dummbledore agreed as he gazed into the younger man's eyes. "But one learns from those mistakes. You have learned, have you not?"

"I certainly have no desire to return to that place. Ever." Lucius admitted freely.

"Then if we may return to our previous discussion?" Dummbledore waited a moment, and then continued. "Like I said, I have made many mistakes with Mr. Potter. The biggest perhaps is when I decided to place him in the home of his aunt and uncle. I thought they could grow to love him or at least take proper care of him. Sadly, that has not been the case. Not only do they starve him and treat him as a slave but abuse him as well, especially his cousin. It has caused emotional problems, among other things. He had been quite happy when he met his Godfather, as that was a ticket out of the home of the Dursleys. Alas, his Godfather met with an unfortunate accident due to Death Eater activity."

Lucius blinked. "And his Godfather was?"

"Sirius Black." Dummbledore simply stated.

"Sirius Black?" Lucius repeated, a bit surprised that Potter's Godfather was a Pureblood.

"Yes. I do believe he was a relative of yours through your wife's family, was he not?" Dummbledore asked.

A hot flash followed immediately by cold flowed through his body as he began to suspect exactly where the old man was taking this insanely slow conversation. "Surely you're not suggesting…."

"I think it would be a wonderful idea." Dummbledore smiled as he once again reached into his popcorn box. "Of course, you must take proper care of the boy. If I understood correctly, you were going to take him for a few days anyway? Why not use that as a trial period, see how things go?"

"This is insane!" Lucius stated, quite shocked. "You're handing the boy over to someone that just escaped from prison?"

"Sirius Black was another prison escapee if you remember correctly?" Dummbledore reminded the Pureblood. "They got along just fine. But allow me to make one thing perfectly clear. Under no condition are you to hand the boy over to Voldemort. It is not often you get a second chance, Lucius. Do not think I will give you a third chance."

"But what about…." Lucius raised his sleeve, indicating the Dark Mark. "What about HIM? He'll kill me."

"You are Harry's next closest relative through Sirius Black. Do you deny that?" Dummbledore asked, his gaze intense.

"Black was my wife's cousin." Lucius admitted. "But surely there must be someone else?"

Dummbledore smiled gently. "Would you rather have Harry live with a werewolf? He could contract it during the summer and possibly pass it on to your son. They do have a habit of fighting you know…"

"No! Anything but that!" Lucius shivered. The idea was horrendous!

"Harry is quite good friends with the werewolf actually…"

Lucius' mouth dropped open in shock.

"Yes, I think you will find he's not prejudice against other species and he can be quite forgiving. He and Sirius grew to be quite close rather fast." Dummbledore said, a bittersweet smile on his face. "But you must remember the boy has been through a lot, far more than anyone else his age. He tends to solve things on his own rather than consult with adults. He doesn't obey rules. He has emotional problems and sometimes those cause his magic to get a bit out of control. Things happen then."

"Like blowing up his aunt?" Lucius asked.

Dummbledore nodded. "I'm surprised he told you."

"And the Ministry?"

"I will handle that." Dummbledore stated. "If you agree to take on his Godfather duties?"

Lucius sighed. He was getting into a mess here and he knew it. What good was staying out of prison if Voldemort killed him? "And Miss Granger? Must I take her as well?"

"Harry would feel more comfortable with her there." Dummbledore admitted. "And do not forget to keep your promise to her. I do suggest you change some galleons into Muggle currency for tomorrow. It's quite unfair to expect a child to pay for everything. You may consider the weekend a trial period to see how you all get along."

"I expect if this continues there will be Weasleys visiting my home." Lucius stated dryly.

"Perhaps…" the Headmaster smiled. "And remember I will be watching."

Lucius watched the old man, a part of him still not believing the conversation he had just had. It seemed too bizarre, almost like one of those odd dreams you had during the night when one thing shifted into another within a few seconds and made no sense at all. "And shall I tell him?"

"Why don't we see how the weekend goes first?" Dummbledore replied.

"Tell me, does Harry realize we're related?" Lucius asked, curious.

"He has seen the Black family tapestry and knows you are related to the Blacks, but doesn't realize that through Sirius he is also related to you. But then, the boy has a lot on his mind." Dummbledore explained to the Death Eater. "I expect you will put the appropriate wards on your home? Oh, and don't panic if you see a few people about on your property. They are there to protect you as well as the boy, as long as you keep the agreement that is."

"Well," Lucius said dryly. "They certainly didn't do much to stop me from snatching him now, did they? I suggest you hire more appropriate people. But then, if you're relying on help from werewolves…"

Dummbledore just smiled.

"It seems I will have to protect the boy myself." Lucius sighed. What a mess he had stumbled into! "And how will I ever explain this to Narcissa?"

To be continued…


	5. The Movies

Symbiosis 5

Still shocked at the Headmaster's words, Lucius followed the three teens out of the zoo. They reached his carriage and crawled in silently. He joined them, sitting across from Potter and next to his son. He truly had no idea how to explain this situation to his wife and had forgotten all about the Muggle movie they were suppose to go see.

"Where are we going now, Granger?" Draco asked as he leaned back in his seat, his gray eyes on Hermoine and Harry.

"To a movie." Hermoine replied. "It's a form of Muggle entertainment and very popular. You'll like it! There's this really good one playing and the previews looked incredible! And like I said, it has magic in it. It'll prove to you that most Muggles love magic. It's in lots of literature…"

"Like Muggle literature would interest me." Draco drawled, unconvinced. His gaze focused on the skinny dark-haired boy sitting across from his father. "What about you, Po … Harry? Have you been to one of these Muggle movies?"

"No." Harry admitted. "My Uncle always left me home when they went to a movie."

The theatre was close to the zoo and in a few short minutes they were there. Draco stepped down from the carriage and stared at the odd-looking Muggle building. To his dismay, a long line of Muggles stretched across part of the sidewalk and disappeared through the building's door. Up above the doors there was a big white area that seemed to glow and black lettering that formed words were on it. He glanced at the others, feeling uneasy. His father was also staring at the Muggle building, an unreadable expression on his face. Draco noticed that he had been unusually quite and pondered if this ridiculous deal was getting to him. As much as Draco wanted to be friends with Harry, he still felt uncomfortable about Muggle stuff. Hermoine hurried to the end of the line as she dug in her purse for more of the odd Muggle colored paper. Sighing, Draco stalked up to her. "Look, Granger. Do we have to see this Muggle movie thing? I admit the zoo wasn't as bad as I feared but this…"

Hermoine smiled at him, her hand full of the colored papers. "There's nothing to be scared of! Trust me!"

"I'm not scared!" Draco protested, his stomach doing flip-flops. He shifted his gray eyes to the papers. "Why do Muggles value paper so much? It's not like it's gold…"

"Shhhh! And stop calling them Muggles! They'll hear you!" Hermoine cautioned as she hissed at him, yanking him closer. "The government has issued it as the currency so it is! It's far easier to carry, for one. And if you must know, they're called banknotes."

Draco shook his head. "I still think it's stupid."

Harry and Lucius joined them in line, the Death Eater having no idea of what to expect. Harry was slightly better off as he understood the basic concept even if he'd never actually been to a theatre before. The whole thing still seemed totally bizarre to the Boy Who Lived as if he'd been sucked into an alternate dimension where he was an actually friend to the Malfoys. Oh, he understood Hermoine's reasoning all right; he just doubted if it'd work.

The line moved forward and they passed through the doors. The smell of popcorn filled the air.

Draco stared up at the string of electric light bulbs that circled the long outer room where tickets were bought. The room had two separate ticket booths, one empty and covered with colorful posters. The teen stared at the colorful pictures that stood perfectly still, the figures refusing to move as was proper. He tugged at his father's sleeve, pointing.

Muggles! Lucius shivered as his blue-gray eyes fell on the unnatural picture that refused to behave normally. The shocking reality was beginning to settle in and he didn't care for it one bit. The zoo hadn't really been all that bad, even if it had been crowded with Muggles of every sort and size. But the picture before him said it all. What in the world had he gotten them into? If the other Purebloods would ever find out he had actually seen a Muggle movie, why, it would be a scandal! Yes, the Malfoys would be the laughing stock of the Pureblood wizarding world!

"Come on!" Hermoine appeared and gripped Draco by his wrist, pulling him into another larger room. "I have our tickets!"

Resigned to the fact there was no escape, Draco allowed himself to be pulled. He gawked at the snack counter with its noisy popcorn popper and gurgling soda dispenser, at the giant posters along one wall for upcoming attractions and a room off to the side that seemed to be filled with odd noise-making Muggle machines. Young Muggles clustered around the machines, their eyes glued to them for unknown reasons.

"Those are just video games." Hermoine explained as she saw the confused looks on the Pureblood faces. "We're not interested in those! Those things will rot your brains!"

"Really?" Lucius asked, pondering if she was being literal. With Muggles one never knew…

Hermoine led them up a red carpet that had a funny rope thing on one side. A man stood at the end dressed in an odd Muggle uniform. Silently Hermoine handed him the four tickets and he tore them in half, returning the stubs to her. Then she led them down a long hall until they reached an open doorway. "It's in here…"

Draco peered cautiously into the dark room. "I don't see anything in there…"

"Of course not!" Hermoine huffed. "That's because it didn't start yet! Now come on so we can get a good seat!"

Unworried, Harry stalked into the dark room. Unlike the Purebloods, he was eager to see a movie. He reached the end of the passage where the room opened up to reveal soft cushioned seats that rose upwards to the back of the room. He had heard of stadium seating and instantly understood what it was now. He sensed the others following him, so he moved into one of the empty rows of seats. Deciding it would be best to sit in the center of the row, he settled down and prepared to wait for the show to start.

Confused, Draco sat down next to Harry. "Exactly what it this about?"

"You watch the white screen." Hermoine explained as she sat on Draco's other side. "When the right time comes, there will be a moving picture on it."

Draco glanced at the white screen way in the front. It was incredibly big and seemed to stretch from one side of the room to the other. The room was dark and it was hard to see anything at all. If it hadn't been for the red glowing spots on the small steps he probably would have tripped over them in the unfamiliar environment. More Muggles poured in, their hands filed with boxes of popcorn and large cups of soda. Hermoine had argued that they would no doubt eat supper later and that more snacks would just ruin their appetite. Besides, the drinks would just cause them to miss parts of the movie, as they would have to go to the bathroom. Leaning back in his seat, he decided to wait for whatever would happen.

The Death Eater sat on Hermoine's other side, his mind still partly clouded with the fact that he had out of the blue became Harry's Godfather. It was just unbelievable!

Then a bright light filled the screen. The pre-show countdown started, the loud sound shocking both Harry and the two Malfoys. They watched several previews for other movies, their stunned eyes glued to the screen. Then the movie itself started and they were swept away to the town of Port Royal in _Pirates of the Caribbean._ As the movie rolled across the screen, the amazed Malfoys forgot they were in a room crowded with Muggles. The story of pirates, cursed gold and epic battles at sea totally hypnotized them. They really had no idea what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. The cursed pirates, when they moved into the moonlight and became skeletons looked real. The setting was something they could grasp and understand, which was partly why Hermoine had chosen it. People of the wizarding community still lived old-fashioned with torches, carriages and cloaks. And swords, well, everyone understood what those were for!

The movie drew to an end and the credits flowed across the silver screen. Finally the music ended and the screen turned white again. Muggles stood and started to leave, tossing their empty food containers into the trashcan on the way out.

Hermoine stood, stretching her legs. "Well, what did you guys think? Did you like it?"

"It … it looked real!" Draco stuttered, still quite shocked.

"Well of course it did!" Hermoine replied as she urged the others up so they could leave the room. "Movie goers expect realism these days, you know. It wouldn't be as good if it looked fake!"

"But their Muggles!" Draco protested, his gray eyes wide. "How could Muggles DO that? Turn those pirates into skeletons, I mean. Did they get some wizards to help them or something?"

"I am not aware of any dark spell that could do that…" Lucius admitted, a slight shudder passing through his body. His son had been right when he stated the skeletons had looked real, perhaps too real. He hoped the children would not suffer nightmares because of the horrible sight…

"Of course not!" Hermoine laughed as she led them outside into the cool evening air. "It's all special affects done on computers!"

"Computers?" Draco looked blankly at her.

"Yes, computers." Hermoine bit her lower lip, unsure how to explain computers to her classmate. "It's difficult to explain. Basically its this box that can do stuff. Muggles use them for all sorts of stuff from writing to altering photos to playing games. They're incredibly versatile and have thousands of functions. I really can't explain it but trust me when I say Muggles can create incredibly real images on them."

"That was incredible!" Harry agreed as he climbed into the carriage once again. His mind was still on the movie he had seen but as the invisible carriage rolled down the street he begun to realize exactly where they were most likely heading.

Malfoy Manor.

Harry began to grow nervous. He still didn't trust Lucius Malfoy and the last thing he wanted to do was walk willingly into the man's house. True, he hadn't tried anything yet but that didn't mean anything. Harry had no doubt the man could be incredibly sweet when he wanted to be in order to create a false sense of security. And then when one less expected it, he'd spring like a deadly spider. The image of him from the end of his Second Year was still fresh in his mind, the man's face twisted in anger as he pulled his wand to say some awful spell. Only Dobby had save him that day. And now here he was in the man's carriage on the way to his home! Worst, Hermoine acted as if nothing was happening!

Perhaps this was an alternate universe!

Silent, Harry watched the Muggle street lights flicker by as the carriage quickly moved through traffic. With growing dread, he realized that he'd probably have to eat supper with the Malfoys! Could he trust them not to poison the food? A frown creased his face as he realized that Lucius wouldn't poison him after all. No, Voldemort wanted him alive so he could kill him himself!

And where in the world had Dumbledore gone? Didn't his Headmaster care about him anymore?

With growing dread he watched as the carriage rolled through a wrought iron gate and proceeded up a super long driveway. Trees and shrubs passed and the nervous feeling within the pit of his stomach grew worse. Although earlier he had been glad to be free of the Dursleys he was beginning to have serious doubts. This was his life he was playing with and unlike the cursed pirates; he had no gift of immortality. No, he was simply cursed!

The carriage finally came to a stop before a huge mansion. The doors opened and Lucius stepped out. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry climbed out as well.

To be continued…

Author's Note: The other movie I considered for them to see was _Dinotopia_ but I'm unsure how many of you seen it. The actor who plays Professor Lupin is in it and it's a wonderful movie about a land where dinosaurs live alongside humans. If you love fantasy, you should watch it. It's quite long though: 4 hours. Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one should be longer!


	6. Malfoy Manor

Symbiosis 6

Author's Note: I have done some research in hopes of making the Malfoy Manor accurate in decoration and architecture detail. The home of the Malfoys has never been described in the novels and I didn't just want to make it up. Therefore I'll be basing it on a real mansion that was built in 1890 and in its heyday was the grandest manor in my city. The owner spared no expense in building it and it's incredibly beautiful. Although this may be more 'modern' than a home the Malfoys have lived in for centuries; I still think it should work perfectly fine. To most reading this, 1890 is still the distant past when horse-drawn carriages were used along with candles: sounds like HP? The architecture style is also a revival of the style that was popular across Europe in the 1600s so that gives us some leeway I think. Also note that Lucius Malfoy's hairstyle and clothing would fit right into Regency England (1800s). I only hope I'll be able to convey the grandeur of the manor across in the story. The research has caused a delay in writing this chapter; sorry for that. I also know nothing of Narcissa so I'll be making her up.

Harry gaped open-mouthed at the house before him. Even though the sky was darkening he could still see enough of the house to be amazed. He had known all along that Draco lived in a mansion but until now he never really truly understood what a mansion was. To him it had simply meant a big house, one much larger than the one his uncle owned. But this was incredible! The first thing his eyes fell on was the huge porch and stairs that led up to the front door. The steps were made of a smooth dark gray stone that sparkled in the fading light, wide enough for a dozen adults to climb them side-by-side without crowding. They were lined on both sides by fine stone railings, these the same light brown as the house itself. The roofed porch, or portico as it was more commonly called, was dark arched openings supported by tall columns. Behind this rose the house itself made of large squared off blocks. Although Harry didn't know it, Malfoy Manner was built in the Flemish Renaissance Revival style with the house being equal on both sides. Towering chimneys rose up from the bright red clay tiled roof. Elaborate molded frames surrounded the windows and rusticated masonry surrounded the front door, the deep grooves in the stone framing the door as one would a painting. Wrought iron decoration jutted up from the top of the house, giving it a slightly sinister look and Harry thought it suited the Malfoys quite well. The many windows reflected the sunset and glowed an eerie red. Dressed stones, called quoins, were located on the corners of the house. Pale cream, they were laid so their faces were alternately large and then small. And the upper windows even had their own tiny triangular roofs called pediments to keep the sun at bay or to protect from rain. A mansion, Harry was discovering, was far more than a big house. It was all the little details that added up to create a stunning masterpiece that people actually lived inside of. Wealth usually did not impress him but even he had to admit the house was something special. And he hadn't even discovered the glass conservatory that was in the back yet. Or the separate carriage house and stables that were also tucked away in the back on the huge expanse of land the Malfoys owned.

"Impressed, Potter?" Draco asked, a smile on his pointed face as he watched the other boy gawk at the house.

Harry nodded, forgetting for the moment he was about to enter his enemy's house like a willing fly into a spider's web. Dumbly he followed the blonde boy up the excessively wide stairs to the front door. Even the door itself was a work of art. It sported a fancy knocker in the shape of a gargoyle, the fierce creature gripping the heavy curved piece of metal in its mouth. The doorknob was carved, too, and the dark-haired boy could only stare in wonder. He had know the Malfoys were rich but why would anyone bother decorating a doorknob? Lucius opened the door and he followed the others in.

Lucius paused in the reception hall to remove his cloak and hang it up on one of the hooks on the wall, Draco copying his father automatically. The small room, Harry noted glumly, was larger than his bedroom at the Dursleys and it was nothing but a cloakroom! The floor shone under his scuffed athletic shoes and the walls were rich with smooth reddish-brown woodwork. Harry glanced at Hermoine and saw she too was looking around in wonder and that made him feel slightly better.

"Welcome home, Master!" A house elf hurried over, the tiny creature dressed in the usual tea towel. It stared up at Lucius with large dark eyes. "Mistress is in the lady's parlor."

Then the house elf's eyes fell on Harry and Hermoine. "Master has guests!"

"Go and prepare dinner." Lucius ordered the house elf. "And prepare two bedrooms for our guests."

"Yes, Master." The house elf bowed and scurried off.

Harry gripped Hermoine by the elbow and dragged her close so he could hiss in her ear. "Don't start anything! I almost got killed when I freed that first one!"

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Hermoine protested weakly, her chocolate eyes following the elf until it vanished from sight. Her gaze shifted to her best friend and she smiled. "Really, Harry, I wasn't! We have much bigger issues to handle and I promise I won't start up with S.P.E.W. while we're here."

"We'll be lucky if we don't end up locked in the dungeon!" Harry grumbled under his breath.

"The dungeon? Really, Harry!" Lucius smiled at the boy who was now in his charge. "I think we can find a better room than that, don't you think? Surely you don't think I lock my guests up in the dungeon? I assure you I'm not that horrible."

Harry bravely stared the older man in the eyes. "Why are you being so nice? Your act may fool Hermoine but it doesn't fool me. You're planning on handing me over to Voldemort, aren't you? Well, I'm not going without a fight."

Lucius sighed. That old fool had dropped a huge mess in his hands and now he had to deal with it. But he was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn't shirk duties no matter how difficult or unpleasant. Of course, part of it was his fault and now he was forced to deal with it. "No, I'm not going to hand you over. We're going to have dinner. And I'm going to keep my end of the bargain no matter how odd that may seem. Now come along."

Lucius led them into the next room and Harry found himself looking around. He told himself it was always good to know where all the exits to a room were located but he couldn't help admiring the room itself. A rich red and gold Persian carpet decorated the floor, the kind he had only seen in pictures. Candelabra in elaborately decorated gold rested atop side tables and the room's mantelpiece, the softly glowing candles giving the room warmth. Moving paintings of Malfoy ancestors glared down at him from the walls, some no doubt shocked and outraged that wizards of dirty blood were actually inside the house. But without question the main feature of the room was the grand staircase. Every mansion had a grand staircase and Malfoy Manor was no different. The staircase was made of light-colored wood and highly polished until it shone. The wood was ornately carved in the shape of fantastic beasts: dragons, unicorns and manticores. And although it didn't move as the ones at Hogwarts did, somehow it was far more impressive. His green eyes followed it up and up until he spotted a stained glass skylight high above set into the roof. On a sunny day rainbow colored light would fill the staircase and it would be beautiful.

A lovely woman with the same white hair as Lucius and Draco emerged from one of the other doorways, a pleasant smile on her face. She wore a long dark green gown and diamonds sparkled around her neck and in her earlobes. She moved to stand next to Lucius and placed a hand on his arm. "My dear, you're home. You've been gone all day. I was worried. I didn't think it would take so long to study those awful Muggles."

"There have been a few new developments." Lucius replied, still unsure how to explain it all to his wife. "Narcissa, I'd like you to meet our guests."

Narcissa shifted her eyes off her husband and son, first now spotting the other two teens gawking at the grand staircase. There was a girl with bushy brown hair and a dark-haired boy with glasses. Both were dressed in Muggle clothing, the boy's looking especially ragged and too large for him. The boy was looking the other way and he moved cautiously towards the next doorway. He peered through the beautifully carved doorway into the dining room, the delicious aromas of dinner no doubt attracting him. "Isn't that…?"

"Yes, it's Potter. I'll explain it to you in a moment." Lucius stated. Raising his voice, he called out to the two teens. "Harry, Hermoine. I'd like you to meet my wife, Narcissa."

Harry turned around and walked back to the Malfoys, Hermoine following him. Deciding it was best to be polite, he held out his hand. Truthfully he knew nothing of Draco's mother and could only hope she was better than her husband. She apparently sent Draco home baked goodies every day at school and how bad could such a doting mother be? Of course, his Aunt Marge dotted on Dudley and was an utterly horrible woman. Still Harry hoped for the best and decided not to judge her by who she lived with. His luck was bound to change sooner or later, wasn't it? He shook her hand, smiling politely. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter. And this is Hermoine Granger. We're very pleased to meet you."

"You have a beautiful home!" Hermoine added.

"Thank you." Narcissa said as smiled at them, still slightly puzzled what the famous Harry Potter was doing in their home. "I'm very glad you like it."

"Draco, go and show your friends to the dining room." Lucius instructed and watched the three teens disappear through the doorway. He then turned to his wife. "I'm afraid they're going to be staying here awhile…"

"Here?" Narcissa repeated, surprised. "I know you wanted to kill the boy but surely you'd do that elsewhere? Besides, the Ministry must be looking for both you and the boy. By now they must have noticed he's gone from wherever he's supposed to be! You're in enough trouble as it is. It's a miracle you escaped from that awful place and I don't want to see them haul you away again. Once was bad enough. And it would be worse now that Draco is home. Surely you don't want our son to see you arrested and hauled out in cuffs, do you? What were you thinking, snatching the boy like that?"

"Calm down, Narcissa! No one is going to haul me away." Lucius assured her, his hands on her shoulders. "I ran into that great fool, Dumbledore. He is apparently looking for a new guardian for the Potter boy and has given us the job."

Narcissa's mouth dropped open. "What? You can't be serious!"

"Unfortunately Dumbledore is." Lucius remarked dryly. "We're apparently related to him through Sirius Black. He was Potter's Godfather and now I've apparently inherited the job. Dumbledore said as long as we care for the boy I don't have to go back to prison."

"But what good will that do if You Know Who kills us for harboring the boy?" Narcissa asked fearfully. She certainly didn't want Voldemort to kill them!

"Well, so far he doesn't know. We'll have to think of something." Lucius stated.

"Lucius, where have you been all day anyway?" Narcissa asked.

"The London Zoo." He admitted.

"You took our poor son to a Muggle zoo?" She said, shocked. "The experience must have traumatized him! All those awful Muggles and their weird contraptions! They have those horrid metal boxes that move and who knows what else? Surely he's too young to see such terrible things!"

Lucius sighed. "Narcissa, he's almost sixteen! I think he's quite old enough to learn about Muggles. That was the whole point to our trip today. And I'm afraid the trip will continue all weekend as I made a deal with Miss Granger. She wishes to educate us on Muggles and how wonderful they truly are. Her parents are Muggles."

Narcissa covered her mouth with a slender hand, truly shocked. A Muggle-born in their house! "How terrible for the poor girl."

"She apparently doesn't see anything wrong with them. She even dragged us to the movies." Lucius admitted as he steered his wife towards the dining room. "Now don't say anything to the kids about us being Potter's Godfather. They don't know yet."

Narcissa nodded.

Zunno the house elf returned. "Master, I have done as you requested. Dinner is ready and the rooms for the guest are ready as well. Is there anything else I may do for you, Master?"

Lucius paused, thinking. Then he remembered the Muggle drink can in his cloak and he quickly retrieved it. He handed the can to the house elf. "See if you can purchase more of these, Zunno."

The house elf accepted the empty soda can and studied it. "Zunno has never seen one of these, Master. Where might one look for these red containers?"

"It's a Muggle drink. I'm sure their stores have lots of them. I understand they are quite common."

"Lucius!" Narcissa exclaimed. "You're not addicted to some Muggle drink, are you?"

"Of course not!" Lucius shook his head in denial. "It's just a useful energy potion is all. Really, Narcissa! What harm can a little Muggle drink do? We do use a few other Muggle items, the plumbing system and Hogwarts Express come to mind."

"That's true." Narcissa had to admit. Some Muggle inventions were useful. "But it's not like you to take so readily to Muggle things."

"True." Lucius admitted, and then shifted his attention back to the elf. "When you have the drinks, keep them cold."

"Yes, Master. Zunno will try very hard to find Master the drinks!" The house elf scurried away once again and vanished from sight.

"Well, let us join our guests for dinner." Lucius held out his arm and Narcissa took it, then together they entered the dining room.

Harry followed Draco into the dining room. It was, without doubt, one of the most impressive rooms he had seen. And odd as it might be, the room seemed to be decorated in Gryffindor colors! There were two red Persian runners on the polished floor, one on each side of the long dinner table. The table and matching chairs were clearly antique; the thin, carved legs pointed to that. A short white tablecloth covered the table, the fabric obviously fine and expensive. A pair of gold candelabra, each with five tall white candles, rested on each end of the long table. Directly above the table hung a breathtaking golden chandelier that held more of the long white candles. Like the candelabra, the chandelier was made of gold and a gold chain attached it to the ceiling, right in the center of a ceiling medallion. The elaborate ceiling medallion was done in shades of red, gold and cream; a snake-like design running through it. The Boy Who Lived glanced up and was surprised to see yet more designs on the ceiling. They didn't seem to be painted on nor were they magic but three-dimensional. The wavy designs, at regular intervals, ran across the entire ceiling almost like a border. More of the three-dimensional designs repeated on the walls, just below the ceiling.

"Like the ceiling, do you?" Draco drawled as he watched Harry staring upward. "It's what you call a tin ceiling. All the better mansions have them, you know."

"I never saw one before." Harry admitted. "It's beautiful."

Hermoine also gazed upward at the ceiling high above, but not as high up as the one in the Great Hall. "It really is beautiful. Are those snakes?"

"Of course." Draco rolled his eyes and then pulled out one of the chairs. Seating himself, he leaned back in the chair and relaxed. "I suppose this ceiling is impressive. Of course, I'm quite used to it you realize. The one in Father's study is much more unique and interesting; although it doesn't have all the glint and glamour."

Harry glanced around the rest of the dining room. The walls were done in a pale cream color and went quite well with the dark reddish woodwork. A few landscape paintings in gilded frames hung on the walls. A small serving table, also covered in a fine tablecloth, stood against one wall. Rich cream draperies framed the doorway where they had entered. He briefly wondered where Lucius and Narcissa were and then realized they were no doubt talking about him. Deciding the room was safe enough; he shifted his gaze to Draco. "What is your father really up to?"

"How would I know?" Draco answered, shrugging. "As far as I know, Father keeps his word. Maybe if you're lucky, he'll let you spend the summer here."

Harry was quite taken aback by this. In fact, it was the last thing he had expected the blonde to say. "Do you mean that?"

"Why not?" Draco replied, relaxed. "It can be quite dull you know."

"Living here is dull?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Of course it is!" Draco waved a cultured hand about. "You're seeing all the glitz and glamour for the first time so you're impressed. But it's actually very boring living here. Father has his Dark Art items but he doesn't let me touch those. And we do have our own Quidditch pitch so that can be entertaining, but its no fun playing alone. And although I may associate with Crabbe and Goyle at school, I certainly don't invite them over. Those two wouldn't know how to appreciate this and they'd no doubt break a Ming vase or something. Don't you think?"

Harry nodded. He only had a very vague idea of what a Ming vase was.

"Anyway," Draco continued in his drawl. "It would be nice to have someone spend the summer. We have agreed to be friends, have we not? And I wouldn't mind going on a little adventure with you two. Merlin knows this place is boring enough!"

"And what about Voldemort?" Harry asked. "Doesn't your father work for him? Or are you conveniently forgetting that little detail?"

"That idiot?" Draco snorted. "The guy has a one-track brain. He's a bit obsessed with killing you."

"I KNOW that!" Harry cried. "Isn't that a bit of a problem?"

"So? All you have to do is kill him first." Draco suggested.

"I'm not a murderer." Harry stated. He stared at the other boy and realized Draco was just repeating things his father had said. "You don't even understand what you just said, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Draco insisted. "I'm not stupid, Potter."

"You know the definition of the word, not what it really means to do it." Harry explained as he pointed first to his head and then to his chest. "You understand it up here, but not here. I've seen people die … murdered … and it haunts you here. I wish I could forget it but I can't. It's not what you think it is; it's far worst. Trust me, you don't want to ever see anything like that."

Draco noted the haunted look in Harry's green eyes and for the first time was thankful that Hermoine had punched him Third Year. Maybe he really hadn't wanted to see the hippogriff killed. Maybe he couldn't really stomach such a sight. In a way Harry was right. Listening to his Father's stories and being there were two totally different things. "So, if you can't kill him what will you do?"

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. The prophecy had said that one must kill the other, so either he must kill Voldemort or Voldemort will kill him. "We certainly can't let him going around killing innocent people."

Hermoine sat down at the table and Harry joined her. A few moments later Lucius and Narcissa came in and joined them.

Dinner appeared on the table like magic and they all settled down to eat. Harry was quite relieved to see it was all normal looking food like roast turkey and vegetables instead of strange stuff with names he couldn't pronounce. Wealthy people were known for eating bizarre stuff, like caviar, and Harry had half feared that he'd be forced to consume who-knows-what. Unless Lucius had ordered the house elves to serve more normal stuff just for him, but no, the man surely wouldn't do that. He was a horrid Death Eater after all…

"So," Lucius said as he deftly cut the turkey slice on his plate. "Where are we going tomorrow? Any ideas? I'm sure by now you have thought up an appropriately horrible Muggle place to drag us!"

"Ummm," Harry shrugged and turned to look at Hermoine.

"I assure you money is no object." Lucius grandly offered. "I'll gladly pay for it."

Everyone at the table stared at Lucius.

"You will?" Hermoine asked, quite surprised.

"Of course. It would be grossly unfair to expect you to pay for it." Lucius explained as he carefully stabbed a piece of the turkey with his fork. "You are, after all, still a child and attending school. And today was quite educational. It's a simple matter to have gold exchanged into your Muggle currency."

Hermoine chewed a mouthful of corn and thought of the possibilities. She really didn't think they'd be interested in any of the historical places, not when they were living in one! So it would have to be somewhere very Muggle with technology, yet somewhere that would be fun.

"Yes Hermoine," Draco encouraged. "Do tell us where we're going to go tomorrow. This place is too dull. I don't suppose Muggles have anything exciting, do they? I mean, they don't have flying brooms or Quidditch…"

"So you want excitement, do you?" Hermoine asked the blonde Slytherin across the table from her, an innocent expression on her face.

Draco nodded.

"Are you sure?" She asked, teasing him.

"Of course! I said I did, didn't I?" Draco narrowed his gray eyes as he stared at her. "I'm not scared of any of your Muggle things! And you couldn't possibly have anything as exciting as playing Quidditch anyway!"

Hermoine smirked. "Well, I think we do!"

"Do not!" Draco insisted. "And in case you forgot, I'm the Slytherin Seeker so I'm very good at zooming around on a broom! It'll take quite a lot to beat that."

Assured he had won, Draco leaned back in his chair and smirked at her.

Hermoine, though, didn't look worried at all. Her chocolate eyes had a sparkle to them and she seemed more hyper then before. "Well, I know the perfect place! And you'll spend the day screaming your head off!"

Harry actually looked worried as he glanced at his friend. "Now Hermoine, surely you're not thinking of that place you once told me and Ron about? It sounded, well….."

"Harry!" Hermoine exclaimed. "Don't tell me you're a coward!"

"I'm not!" Harry quickly interjected. "It's just that, well, I already have one guy trying to kill me and I don't need some dangerous contraption that goes at break-neck speed…"

"They're not dangerous!" Hermoine insisted. "They're FUN!"

Harry groaned and glared at Draco. "Now you did it! She's going to get us all killed!"

Excited, Hermoine started to bounce up and down on her chair. "We'll have to go to bed early so we can get up early! It's best to beat the crowds…"

Harry groaned louder.

The Malfoys exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Exactly where are we going?" Lucius finally asked.

"The amusement park!" Hermoine cried happily.

All three Malfoys stared at the girl.

"What exactly is an amusement park?" Draco asked, a crease in the center of his forehead as he tried to puzzle it out. The way Harry had blabbered on about it, the place sounded dangerous. "And why in the world will I spend the day screaming? I'm not daft, you know!"

"Roller coasters!" Hermoine cried with excitement and grew more hyper.

"And what, pray tell, is a roller coaster?" Draco asked more confused then ever.

"It's exciting! Swoosh!" She motioned with her hand.

"Potter, what exactly is she blabbing on about?" Draco demanded.

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to spoil the surprise. You'll find out tomorrow."

"Ah, come on, Harry!" Draco pleaded. "Tell us!"

"All right," Harry agreed. "It's a train that goes up a hill and then down the hill. Satisfied?"

Draco frowned. "You're getting excited over a TRAIN? How dumb is that?"

Hermoine only laughed. The annoyed expression on Draco's face only caused her to laugh harder.

"Poor Purebloods. You'll be sorry tomorrow." Harry stated as he continued to clean his plate. He knew with the rough rides his bushy-haired friend would no doubt drag them on tomorrow that he'd better eat now while his stomach was where it belonged and not half way up his throat. When his plate was clean and he could eat no more, he glanced at Lucius hopefully. "Are you sure you don't have a dungeon? Now would be a good time to get lost in it…"

"Surely this Muggle roller coaster thing can't be all that bad." Lucius asked. Truthfully, Harry's reaction was making him more curious than ever.

"You tell me that when we're up on the hill looking down…" Harry remarked mysteriously.

"You're a genius, Harry!" Hermoine hugged her friend tightly. "You have them all curious and dying to go! You're brilliant!"

"I am?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Hermoine repeated happily.

Lucius stood and motioned them to follow him. "Your rooms are ready. If you'll follow me…"

Harry and Hermoine followed him out of the dining room and up the grand staircase to the second floor. The mansion was a bit plainer up here but the beautiful woodwork was still everywhere. It surrounded every door and ran along the bottom part of the walls. The wooden floor shone and Harry could almost see his reflection in it. Candelabra attached to the walls at regular intervals provided light, the candles ensorcered never to burn out or needing replacing. After showing each one where their guest room was, he pointed out the guest bathroom.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Lucius assured them and with his snake-headed cane in hand, he disappeared through the intricately carved double doors at the end of the hall.

"Come on." Harry dragged Hermoine into his bedroom and quickly closed the door. He heard a soft hoot and turned to find Hedwig resting on top of the richly decorated wardrobe. His trunk of belongings rested near the foot of the immense canopy bed, Hedwig's cage sitting on an antique side table. "What do you think is really going on here? I mean, is he being straight forward or is he up to something?"

"Well, he hasn't done anything yet." Hermoine admitted as she glanced around the room. "He seems to be keeping his word."

"But he's a Slytherin! You can't trust them." Harry pointed out and he started to stalk around the bedroom, the nervous energy bubbling in his stomach. He stopped and turned to face her. "Maybe he'll wait until we fall asleep and then he'll try to kill us!"

"Oh, Harry!" Hermoine cried and shook her head sadly, her bushy hair flying about. "I'm sure he won't do that! If he wanted us dead he'd have tried it already I'm sure."

"Unless he wants us to trust him first." Harry pointed out. "He's a Death Eater, Hermoine! He works for Voldemort! And now suddenly he's all nice and taking us in, giving us dinner? There's a lot wrong with that picture, you know. It's very, very odd!"

"And I told you it's a great opportunity to change them!" Hermoine sighed. "Harry, you're going to have to give them a chance! Maybe they never were as bad as you thought. Or maybe they were and they want to change if you give them the chance. Your real conflict is with You Know Who, not Lucius or Draco."

"What about the diary Second Year?"

"Well," Hermoine said as she idly walked around the room, thinking. "Maybe Riddle was controlling him just as he controlled Ginny. Or maybe he sent the diary into the school full-well knowing you'd defeat and kill the basilisk! It was a menace to the school and needed to be destroyed, but no one could find the hidden chamber. Or he really wanted to kill Muggle-borns that year and now he's learned more and doesn't like what Voldemort is doing. You never really know. I think Slytherins keep a lot to themselves, as they really don't like trusting others very much. They're very secretive. But I think a lot of them are quite clever. Why do you think Draco was turned into a ferret Fourth Year?"

"Because of Mad Eye Moody…"

"Yes, Mad Eye did it, but think Harry! A ferret represents cunning! And if you're going to defeat You Know Who you better have some cunning on your side." Hermoine pointed out. "And I do believe Lucius is quite clever."

"Which is why I don't trust him!" Harry repeated. He sighed and collapsed onto the bed. The bed shook with his weight and settled down. It really was a nice bed, the mattress not too hard or too soft. "We're not getting anywhere. We're just going around in circles."

"We really should get some sleep…" Hermoine suggested.

"Like I'm really going to be able to sleep." Harry sat up and his green eyes darted to his trunk. "I suppose I could go snooping around, get my Dad's old cloak out."

"Harry! That's a very bad idea!" Hermoine quickly said as she shook her head. "There may be certain rooms he doesn't want people in. You may set off some booby trap or alarm!"

"Well, I don't care. I'm here so I'm going to go snoop!" Harry jumped off the bed and hurried to his trunk. Pulling it open, he quickly sorted through the various books and pieces of clothing until he found the invisibility cloak. "If there's nasty Dark Art stuff he doesn't want us to see, that's exactly what I'm going to go look at!"

"But things are going so nice!" Hermoine pleaded, worried that Harry may goof it all up. "He may get angry!"

"I'm not scared of him." Harry vowed and quickly tossed the rest of his belongings back into his trunk. He wanted to be ready to leave in a hurry if the need arose. "I wasn't scared of him Second Year and I'm not now."

"I really hope you know what you're doing!" Hermoine said as she followed him to the door.

Harry reached out and cautiously tried the doorknob sure it would be locked. But to his utter surprise the door swung open unheeded and on silent hinges. He stuck his head out into the hall and peered up and down the hall. Nothing. The coast was clear and he quickly motioned with his arm for her to follow him. He threw the cloak over the both of them and they slowly moved towards the grand staircase. The numerous candelabra in the hall were still lit and provided ample light, but Harry had his wand out just in case. He had no idea what horrible things a Death Eater would keep in his house but he was sure there were lots of them.

"We should search his office." Harry whispered.

"I don't know if I want to do this. It's not like sneaking around at school." Hermoine nervously pointed out.

"We have to know what sort of stuff he has hidden." Harry replied, his voice firm.

"But we don't even know where his office is!"

"We'll keep looking until we find it. I mean, how big can this house really be?" Harry asked as they carefully made their way back down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, Harry decided they should go in the other direction. He remembered Narcissa coming out of another room, one opposite of the dining room. Leading, Harry boldly passed through the doorway. Holding his wand aloft for light, he peered around.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Hermoine exclaimed as her eyes fell on the red and gold room. The large room had cream-colored walls that were decorated with three-dimensional plaster decorations, the decorations painted the same color as the walls. Four windows, two on each outer wall, were hung in brilliant red draperies. Many soft and inviting cushioned chairs were around the walls of the room, the chairs done up in the same exact red as the draperies. Like the furniture in the dining room, the chairs had the same skinny and curved legs of antiques; with the exception of the legs and frames being gold-colored. All together the room had twelve chairs. A large fireplace filled one wall, a golden screen sitting before it. Twin candelabra rested on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, an ornate curved topped mirror between the two. The other two walls had giant rectangular mirrors on them as well. Green potted plants rested in two corners, as did the busts of the senior Malfoys. The very center of the room was occupied by another huge Persian carpet along with a golden-colored antique coffee table. Anyway, Harry presumed it was a coffee table. The ceiling had a ceiling medallion and a gold chandelier with tall white candles.

"What kind of room is this?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"Ummm, I think it's the lady's parlor." Hermoine replied, her keen eyes falling on the whicker basket of sewing materials and the partly embroidered cloth resting on a chair.

"The what?" Harry asked, confused.

"It's where Narcissa entertains her guests." Hermoine explained. "I'm sure Lucius has his own room for entertaining his guests."

"Yeah, the dungeon!"

"Oh, Harry! You're so funny!"

"I was being serious!" Harry protested in a whisper. "Well, this is a dead-end. Let's go back the other way."

They headed back and in short order passed through the dining room. Here they found a hallway going in two directions and Harry decided to go to the right for no particular reason. At the far end they came upon a set of double doors and Harry carefully tried one of the knobs. To his delight, the door opened easily and he entered. He held his wand high and grimaced at what he saw.

Hermoine, however, was delighted. "Look at all the books!"

Harry sighed as he watched his friend dart out from under the invisibility cloak and hurry towards the nearest bookshelf. "Now I'll never get her out of this house!"

Holding her lit wand aloft, Hermoine eagerly scanned the titles. To her utter pleasure she hadn't read any of them. Quickly she started to pull books from the nearest shelf and pile them onto her other arm. "These are all kept in the Forbidden Section I'm sure!"

The dark-haired boy groaned.

"You can go look for his office if you want, Harry. I'd like to take these books back to my room. If you don't mind, that is? Do you?"

"No, that's OK." Harry assured her. "I probably won't find anything anyway. The Ministry was probably already through the house. I just want to poke around is all; go on a self-guided tour."

"See you later!" Hermoine staggered out of the library with a towering pile of Dark Art books.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. Lucius would have a hard time getting his books back from Hermoine!

To be continued…


	7. Malfoy Manor 2

Symbiosis 7

In the master bedroom, Lucius lay awake staring up at the elaborate ceiling. For some odd reason that he couldn't precisely fathom he couldn't sleep. Was it that the two extra children were in his house and he was now supposed to be responsible for Potter? Was he worried that Voldemort would find out and try to murder him if he didn't hand the boy over? In all his years he had never dreamed of such a crazy situation yet here it was right before him. He sighed loudly and glanced over at his wife next to him. No matter what other people thought he loved Narcissa. She had been the most beautiful girl in his year and she had been a Pureblood. She may not be as ruthless as he was but she had no love for Muggles that much was sure. She lay on her side facing him, a dark blue silk nightgown with white lace trim covering her body. Even in bed she looked like the sophisticated Pureblood she was. Her pale hair cascaded loosely over her slim shoulders and trailed down her back as her blue eyes watched him intently. Sighing again, he admitted his problem to her. "I can't sleep."

"Well it doesn't surprise me with Muggle-borns in our house!" Narcissa exclaimed as her blue eyes flashed with emotion. "Lucius, how could you allow that old fool to boss you around? Surely there must be _someone_ else we can push the Potter boy off on? If we do it quickly You Know Who might never find out he was here."

"But then I would have to go back to prison…" Lucius reminded her as a haunted look appeared in his eyes. "You have no idea what it's like in that place, Narcissa. I'd rather raise the boy for a few years than go back there. Those things; they get into your head…"

"A few years!" she cried as she sat up, horrified. "Do you want to be murdered in your bed by your fellow Death Eaters? They'd do it you know and don't think they won't! They're cold-blooded fiends just like we are! And how do you know this isn't some trick? Maybe it's all a scheme to get into our house…."

"Must I remind you that I was the one that kidnapped them?"

"But they're Muggle-Borns!" she insisted as her eyes darted around the bedroom. She had her own dressing table with mother-of-pearl handles and beautifully carved legs made from rare wood. The top of the table was literally loaded with gem studded jewelry; diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, sapphires and tons of magical gems that Muggles had never heard of. On top of this there was gold and silver. Her mind listed of all the priceless art scattered throughout the house. Nor had she missed their guests open-mouthed stares at they rudely gawked at the stuff. It was obvious they had never seen real wealth before and most likely had no idea of the real worth of it; just that it was incredibly valuable. "Lucius, they could rob us! Do you have any idea how much my jewelry alone is worth? Why, one earring is worth more than that girl's Muggle family makes in ten years I bet!"

"Yes, that's probably true." Lucius admitted as he enjoyed looking upon her. "But they are Gryffindors. I doubt if they would stoop to theft…"

A frown creased his face as he remembered the things Potter had admitted to him. Hadn't he said something about stealing a car? And there had been those potion ingredients that the Granger girl had mentioned… "Of course, I could be wrong. They _do_ seem to have a lot of Slytherin in them. Potter did mention stealing a car…"

"A car?" Narcissa gazed at him blankly.

"I think it's one of those horrid metal boxes Muggles insist traveling around in." He explained.

A look of utter disgust appeared on her pretty face. "Well, I don't care if he steals fifty of those horrid things just as long as he doesn't bring them over here! Why would he even _want_ one of those things?"

Lucius shrugged. "I haven't the slightest idea."

"Stupid Muggles!" Narcissa whined. "They have best behave while they're here. Are you really going to go to that park tomorrow?"

"Yes, I have to. A promise is a promise."

"But it's a Muggle park! What if it's dangerous?" Narcissa threw herself forward and wrapped her slim arms around his neck. "I don't want anything to happen to you! What if they find out we're not like them? They could kill you!"

"I'll be fine, Narcissa!" Lucius wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and hugged her tightly. Her face was pressed against his neck and he could smell the sweetness of her perfume. He could feel an uncustomary tremor pass through her slim body and he realized she feared for his safety and that of their son. True, he had been apprehensive about visiting the Muggle zoo this morning but it had turned out all right. Most of the Muggles had ignored him and the few that had looked his way were probably just curious. He had gotten more than a few appreciative glances from women and that had not displeased him, but they all kept their distance no doubt due to the children. Draco had also seemed to enjoy himself as he was seeing new things for the first time. Although they had been tense and fearful upon arriving, they had quickly relaxed and just enjoyed the outing. "It really wasn't as bad as you imagine, Narcissa. The Muggles at the zoo more or less ignored us. Most were too busy looking at the animals than to guess we are wizards. Why would they even hazard such a guess if we don't perform any spells?"

Narcissa raised her head and stared into his blue-gray eyes. "I suppose you're right, Lucius. But they're just so barbaric! They have no culture or class and do such horrid things!"

"Yes, that they do. They are quite confusing creatures." He stroked her silky hair with his hand, luxuriating in its feel against his skin. "Why don't you come with us tomorrow? You can see for yourself they are quite blind to what we really are. Perhaps the Granger girl is right after all…"

"Me, among Muggles? Lucius, you must be kidding!" Narcissa stared at him in shock, her mouth open to form a perfect O. "And how can you say she's right when she's just a Muggle-born? That's atrocious!"

"And if you don't come with us what will you do all day while we're gone but worry? You will work yourself into a knot and be totally miserable. This way you can see that we are fine. And I trust Miss Granger will not take us anyplace truly dangerous. She very much wants to save her precious Muggles…" Lucius smiled at her and gently gave her a little kiss on the lips, then moved her off of him. He sat up and glanced at the magical clock on the nearby wall. Some time had passed since they had talked and his mind fluttered to his two unexpected houseguests. The truth was, the things his wife had said _did_ prey on his mind. "I suppose I should check on them."

"You had better!" Narcissa remarked from her place in the soft bed.

Throwing the light cover off, he swung his bare feet out of the bed and slid them into his slippers. Standing, he walked over to a nearby chair and reached for his black silk robe. Pulling it on over his equally black silk pajamas, he knotted it at the waist. It wouldn't do for his guests to see him improper without a robe but he doubted if they knew that it would be improper. They probably didn't even _have_ robes to put on over their pajamas, presuming they had pajamas. He frowned at the thought of them sleeping in Muggle T-shirts but what else could he expect from their upbringing? Snatching up his snake-headed cane from where he had left it, he headed out the bedroom door.

Once out in the hall he paused, considering whom he should check on first and whether it was proper for him to even enter the girl's room. Deciding it couldn't hurt to open the door and peer in, he went there first. If she was asleep in bed a lump should be visible. Stopping outside the room he had assigned to her, he turned the knob and swung the door open silently. His sharp eyes fell on the bed and he realized it was perfectly empty. Lucius frowned slightly. Had Narcissa been right after all or had the girl just gone to the bathroom?

Closing the door, he checked the bathroom only to find it empty as well.

"Perhaps they are all in the same room…" Lucius considered that for a moment and then nodded. It made sense. No doubt they did not trust him and sought safety in numbers, which would be totally understandable. Yet it was highly improper. It would be all right for Harry to share Draco's room but he couldn't allow a girl to be in a boy's room. Striding up to Harry's assigned bedroom, he quickly flung the door open hoping to catch them unaware. But his frown only deepened when he realized that room was empty as well! "Where in Merlin are they?"

His sharp eyes noted Potter's bird sleeping on top of the wardrobe and his luggage resting on the floor next to the bed. Since his stuff was still here that suggested he hadn't tried to escape nor had the alarms on the exterior doors gone off. They were magical alarms, of course, and would sound when one of the doors that led outside had been opened. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to flee who knows where just after the old fool had put him in charge of Potter's welfare! Rubbing his chin for a moment, Lucius quickly strode to Draco's room. Perhaps they had all piled in there with his son…

Opening the door, he stepped into his son's room without hesitation. Draco was asleep in his huge four-poster bed, one arm thrown straight out and the other across his chest. His blonde hair rested softly across his forehead and a faint grin was on his face. Lucius quickly peered around the room and even checked the huge wardrobe his son possessed but as far as he could tell it only held clothes. As silently as he had come, Lucius left the room and gently closed the door behind him. If they were not in the bedrooms then they must be elsewhere in the house. His cane gripped tightly in his right hand, he set off for the grand staircase.

He was partway down the staircase when an unexpected sight met his eyes: a tall stack of books coming up the stairs towards him! With his left hand on the polished railing he waited for the stack to come even with him. He smiled when he spotted the bushy head that belonged to the Granger girl. Why was he not surprised?

"Oh! Mr. Malfoy!" Hermoine exclaimed, her face going pinkish at being caught with the incriminating pile of borrowed books. "You don't mind if I borrow a few of these, do you? It's just that I haven't read these particular ones before…"

"And could that be because they're normally locked up in the Forbidden Section?" He asked innocently.

"Well," She hesitated unsure what she should say. "Filche does seem to keep an annoying close eye on the Forbidden Section ever since First Year…"

"You _do_ realize they are Dark Arts books, do you not, Miss Granger?" His smile broadened, enjoying having caught her pilfering from his library. Who ever would have thought little innocent Granger would read Dark Art books? Perhaps these two _did_ belong in Slytherin…

"There's nothing wrong with just _reading_ them!" She exclaimed and poked her nose up in the air like she had seen other snobby Purebloods do. Her eyes flashed with indignation. "I was going to return them you know!"

"Please, be my guest." He swept his cane out smoothly indicating she should precede him up the staircase. Once she had started up again, he followed her. "Feel free to borrow all the books you wish while you're here. And if you have any questions about the content, feel free to ask. I'd be more than happy to explain it to you."

Hermoine headed down the candelabra lit hallway towards her assigned bedroom. "That's very generous of you."

"I'm quite aware you beat my son in every subject." Lucius quickly passed her up and held open her bedroom door for her like a proper gentleman, the smile still on his face. "There is no reason to protest your thirst for knowledge. May I inquire where Harry is? He doesn't seem to be in his room…"

Hermoine paused in her bedroom doorway and bit her lower lip. "He's around somewhere."

"And would that somewhere be downstairs?"

She nodded. She hurried over to the bed and dropped the stack of books onto it, then returned to join Lucius in the hall. "We better go find him before he gets in trouble. When I left him he was fine but who knows what he got himself into by now?"

Lucius raised one eyebrow. "Does he get into trouble that easily?"

"You have no idea!" Hermoine headed towards the staircase at a steady pace and almost flew down the stairs. "I told him not to go poking at things but he doesn't listen. See, he's quite used to crawling around Hogwarts at night and he almost never gets caught…"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Lucius remarked dryly. Thinking back over what Dumbledore had said, this really shouldn't surprise him. And Harry was no doubt curious about the house and the people that lived in it. Still, he hoped he had not touched the wrong thing, as that could indeed be dangerous. He secretly thanked whoever might be listening to his thoughts that he had the most dangerous Dark Art objects hidden away and locked up, not that he really believed the boy could find the stuff. He doubted even Draco knew his hiding places. Still, he knew Potter was resourceful and seemed to accomplish the impossible on a regular basis. Still, who knew what Potter might touch as he was snooping about the house? They checked room after room without success until they reached Lucius' private study. The door was apparently unlocked as it stood ajar; definitely not how he left it. Then his eyes drifted to the floor and the wild struggle that was going on there.

Harry wrestled with a huge polar bear rug, the rug's front arms wrapped around his slender body. The rug's empty eyeholes glowed an eerie red and its mouth still possessed all its sharp teeth, many of the teeth yellow with stains. The boy grunted with effort, his hands locked on the polar bear's jaws and struggled to shove the sharp teeth away from himself. The two opponents squirmed and twisted about on the floor and were totally unaware they now possessed an audience.

Lucius bent over and peered down at his guest. "I see you found my polar bear rug. Do you like it? It keeps intruders out of my private study."

"Call it off!" Harry said through clenched teeth, his arm muscles aching from holding the teeth away from his tender neck.

"Very well." Lucius tapped the rug with the tip of his cane and it instantly went limp.

Harry immediately threw the rug off and scrambled to his feet. He glared at the older man, annoyed that he had been caught breaking into his office. He supposed he should be grateful that Lucius had called the rug off, but he didn't want to feel grateful to him. So he just glared at him with those intense green eyes, daring him to say something.

"Is there something you wish to see in my study, Harry? You are welcome to look around it since we're already here. I assure you I'm not hiding anything. Perhaps you think I have You Know Who tucked away on a shelf or inside a vase?" Lucius grinned at his own little joke but Harry didn't seem to think it was funny.

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"Come, come, come, Harry! We're all friends now are we not?" Lucius motioned with his cane that Harry was free to step into his study. "We've put the sordid past behind us, have we not?"

"Have you?" Harry stared boldly into the older man's eyes unafraid.

"I am trying." Lucius admitted more honestly. "This is as strange for me as it is for you. Surely you realize that? But you must give me a chance."

Harry considered taking up the man's offer to explore his study but felt uncomfortable doing it while he was there. The room could very easily become a trap and Harry wasn't dumb enough to freely enter a room with only one exit, especially one in Lucius Malfoy's house. His mind swiftly flipped through various excuses as to what he was doing breaking into the study, and then he remembered a remark Draco had made in the dining room. "I just wanted to have a look at the ceiling. I heard it was quite unusual."

A surprised expression appeared on Lucius' pale face. "The ceiling?"

"Draco told us a bit about it in the dining room." Hermoine added. "We've never seen such ceilings before. Their remarkable!"

Lucius blinked. "Yes, I suppose they are. I really haven't thought about them."

"If it's all right with you, I'd like to come back during the day and look at it. I realize now I really won't be able to see it properly in the dark with just candles and a lit wand." Harry said as he bent to pick up his cloak.

"Of course." Lucius smiled sweetly. "I'm quite surprised you're appreciating the fine architecture."

"Good night, Mr. Malfoy." Harry brashly walked past him and gripped Hermoine by the wrist so he could pull her down the hallway towards the grand staircase.

"Good night, children." Lucius placed the rug back in the doorway and relocked his study. Shaking his head, he followed them back upstairs. Once he was sure the children were safely in their own rooms he headed back to his own.

"I was beginning to worry. You were gone longer than I expected." Narcissa said as he closed the door and started to untie his robe. "Was there a problem?"

"Miss Granger has borrowed a few books and Harry was caught in the polar bear rug in my study."

"Your study? What in Merlin was he doing in there?" Narcissa asked with a puzzled look on her pretty face.

"He apparently has decided to study architecture and was interested in the ceiling…"

"The _ceiling_? That's the most stupid thing I ever heard!" Narcissa shook her head. She had seen the ceiling thousands of times and had gotten quite used to it. "Really Lucius. If the boy's really going to live here you're going to have to teach him to lie better than that!"

He nodded and placed his robe onto a chair, then crawled back into bed after removing his slippers. "He _is_ a Gryffindor…"

The bedroom was quite for several long minutes.

"It is a remarkable ceiling though, isn't it?" Lucius remarked.

"Oh, go to sleep!"

To be continued…


	8. The Eagle

Symbiosis 8

AN: Thanks for all the great reviews! I appreciate it. Oh, this amusement park is based on an American one as I've never been to England but I'm sure that doesn't really matter.

The next day dawned and the sun rose over the horizon, the weak steams of light waking Hermoine from her slumber. Remembering the planned trip to the amusement park, she quickly showered and dressed in record time. After fastening her still damp hair into a secure ponytail she dashed out of her assigned room to wake the others. She had no difficulties waking Harry, as he still partly feared a nighttime attack by masked Death Eaters, as the Boy Who Lived still didn't trust the Malfoys. She shook her head and shooed him into the bathroom to prepare for the long adventure filled day. She also found Draco's bedroom and dashed right in, waking the blonde Slytherin while ignoring his complaints that the sun wasn't up yet. Hermoine also made sure the Purebloods were dressed appropriately to fit in among the Muggles. Draco wore a black T-shirt and black pants he had in his wardrobe; his father dressing similarly. Without the long robes both Malfoys easily fitted in. Even Narcissa had found an acceptable outfit within her huge wardrobe: a designer short sleeved dark blue top with black pants. So after a quick breakfast and making sure both Lucius and Narcissa had secured their long hair with black ribbons, they had set off to their destination.

It was just after seven AM when they arrived at the Muggle amusement park, the huge paved parking lot almost empty. Lucius parked the invisible Malfoy carriage and placed another spell on it as well, one that would stop any Muggles from trying to park their cars in his spot. He had used it many times in the past and it was quite common among the wizard community who used their own carriages still instead of flue powder or the knight bus. The doors opened and the five of them stepped out.

Draco gawked at the seemingly never-ending Muggle chain-link fence that surrounded the place, a gate visible in the near distance. Tall colorful flags flapped over the gate, each on the top of their own metal pole. But the thing that attracted his attention the most was the thing made from metal that stuck up high above the fence. It gleamed white in the sun and had what could only be termed loops in its structure. He immediately pointed at the thing. "What in Merlin _is_ that thing?"

"It's a roller coaster, of coarse!" Hermoine replied with a smirk on her face. She watched Draco's gray eyes widen in shock and he turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing.

"Granger, you don't seriously think we're going on that _thing_, do you? I mean that's just insane! I mean, look at it!" He waved his arm in the general direction of the roller coaster. A strange sound reached his ears and he turned to watch as a long line of empty cars slowly climbed to the top of the white roller coaster. With infinite slowness they inched over the steep hill and zoomed down the track and shot through the loops and corkscrews.

Narcissa gaped open mouthed and even Lucius appeared shocked as they observed the empty cars travel along the twisting and turning track.

Hermoine gripped Draco firmly by his wrist and started hauling him towards the distant gate. "They're testing the rides! Let's hurry up and buy our tickets so we can go in! It's not too crowded yet because we got here early so we can go on the best ride first! Later the lines will be really long and then we'll have to wait. But if we hurry we'll get there first."

Draco eyed the white looped roller coaster with clear distaste and a lot of fear. "I hope _that's_ not the best one…"

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" Hermoine released him near the entrance gate and accepted a thick wad of Muggle currency from Lucius. She quickly sorted it out and bought five tickets. After handing out the tickets, she led them to the turnstile. "Now you just push through this gate here and hand the Muggle your ticket. The turnstile will move when your body pushes on it so it's nothing to worry about…"

After they all had entered the park successfully, they could see the towering white roller coaster much better. It was secure behind more chain-like fences and an open gateway showed where one could enter the ride. A thick strip of grass grew under portions of the steel ride while a sign was posted out front. The ride's name, _The Whirlwind_, was in gigantic three-dimensional letters. The paved path they stood on forked in several directions and the loud rumblings from several different rides filled the air. Other strange objects rose mysteriously from above the treetops in many different directions and the Purebloods didn't know what to gawk or glare at. The paths were lined with colorful flowers planted in beds and fancy old-fashioned light poles of cast iron. Other poles held hanging baskets of trailing greenery and blooming buds. The park was well landscaped with many areas looking like a well cared for garden.

Narcissa glared at _The Whirlwind_, a sour expression on her face. "Why do Muggles build such awful things? The rumbling alone is enough to wake the dead! And it's a horrendous eyesore!"

"But they're fun!" Hermoine exclaimed, the excitement clear in her voice and a sparkle in her eyes. "That's a modern roller coaster as you can see it's made out of steel. The old-fashioned wooden ones are much more fun! Now lets hurry over to _The Eagle_ so we can be the first in line!"

With a last nervous glance at _The Whirlwind_, Harry followed Hermoine down the right hand path. Like the Malfoys, Harry had never visited an amusement park either and his green eyes flickered everywhere. As they walked he saw souvenir shops, eating areas that sported tables with colorful umbrellas and what appeared to be games where you could win prizes. Small booths scattered through the park sold cold drinks, snacks and assorted types of Muggle candy. The mouth-watering scent of roasting meats started to fill the air and although he had recently eaten, Harry licked his lips. But most of all his eyes were drawn to the weird rides that seemed to be everywhere.

Hermoine stopped, smiling. "Well, there it is! _The Eagle_! So, what do you guys think?"

"Where?" Draco asked as he glanced around in confusion. "I don't see one of those weird things…"

Hermoine laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pointing at the towering white infrastructure that rose in front of them and seemed to go on forever. "It's right there!"

"_That_? Granger, you must be crazy!" Draco shoved her arm off and backed away. The indicated ride rose high up into the air, so high that he had to stare practically straight up to see the top. The neatly painted crisscrossed boards formed smooth hills and deep dips designed to give the rider a sensation of flight. Bright red flags waved from the tallest hill, the material flapping in a strong breeze. Although Draco didn't know it, _The Eagle_ was a double track coaster that allowed two separate cars to race each other although this always didn't happen. The first hill was also incredibly steep and almost appeared vertical, especially when you were sitting in the car and looking down from the top. "That thing must be over one hundred feet tall! You think I'm going to trust some crazy Muggle contraption with my life at that height?"

Hermoine laughed. "Oh, it's much taller than a mere hundred feet, Draco! It's one hundred and twenty-five feet!"

Narcissa clung to her husband's arm as she stared fearfully at the roller coaster. "Lucius, we're not going to go on that awful thing, are we? It's so … so … Muggle! We could be killed! Why, who knows what that horrible device might do to us?"

Although Lucius didn't want to admit it, he was also nervous and his stomach twirled uncomfortably. When he had agreed to go to the amusement park he really had no clear idea what the place was or what rides were. This place was nothing like the zoo. But now that he had seen some of them he was beginning to get a slight idea that Muggles really were insane. Why else would they build these things and voluntarily go on them? Swallowing the lump in his throat, he spoke bravely. "Narcissa, I'm sure it will be fine."

"Relax!" Hermoine said with a big grin on her face. "It'll be fine! It's like a train, really!"

Harry's green eyes scanned the nearby area. Other people had started to appear with a few here and a few there. One in particular caught his eye: a man walking by himself. He had thinning brown hair and wore fading clothes but something about him seemed awfully familiar. But before Harry could determine whom it was he disappeared into the gateway for _The Eagle_.

"Come on!" Hermoine led them through the gateway and they were forced to walk a long zigzagging path between ropes. Loud music with a rhythmic beat played from speakers that were placed high up overhead. Draco raised an eyebrow at the music that seemed to come from the air itself, as he didn't know what the black boxes on posts were. The path rose up a slight curved incline and now the infrastructure itself was directly ahead, a square opening allowing people to pass by underneath. Hermoine dashed through it without hesitation. She paused and glanced behind when she realized the Purebloods had stopped and were staring up at the coaster itself.

"How do Muggles build such a thing without magic?" Lucius asked as he gazed at the thick white square boards that formed the ride. They were positioned at angles to each other and held in place with large metal bolts. Since they were still alone he was free to speak of magic. "Why doesn't it collapse?"

Hermoine shrugged. "It's technology and engineering I guess…"

The Malfoys cautiously moved under the complex structure, their eyes peering up more than a bit fearfully. Then a loud rumbling filled the air. The sound grew louder and louder until it rolled like thunder, the sound coming from overhead.

"Aahhhhhh!" Draco shrieked and dashed forward as quick as he could, convinced the whole thing was ready to collapse onto his head.

Narcissa pressed her face against her husband's shoulder and tightened her grip on his arm. Lucius' heart sped up at the sound but he was clever enough to watch Hermoine whom he noted didn't look worried at all. In fact, she appeared to have expected the sound.

Harry had glanced up at the sound but continued forward at his normal fast pace.

"It's just the coaster passing by overhead!" Hermoine laughed. "The cars ride on a track like a train and the wheels make noise…"

Draco snarled at her, angry that he had panicked at the odd sound. "I knew that! Let's hurry up and get there already! And what's all these stupid ropes we have to walk between, this zigzagging?"

"Later the place will be packed with people and everyone has to wait their turn. Now we all need to decide whom we're going to sit with. The seats in the car can hold two people…" Hermoine led them up wooden stairs and then they reached the boarding station. She turned to the blonde Slytherin. "Draco, do you want to ride with me?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Draco agreed. Now that he was here the wasps were back in his stomach again. He allowed Hermoine to grip his wrist again and she led him over to something that reminded him of a horse stall. Metal railings spaced equally apart ran the length of the boarding platform and she shoved him into the first one, directing Lucius and Narcissa into the next one over.

Harry, meanwhile, ignored the exchange as his eyes were firmly locked on the man he had spotted earlier. The man patiently waited in the third stall. "Professor? Professor Lupin?"

"Harry?" Remus Lupin turned and a wide grin spread over his face. "What are you doing here? Come over here and we can ride together! I was convinced I'd have to spend a miserable day by myself and here you show up!"

Harry ran forward and threw his arms around Lupin and hugged him tightly. After pulling apart, he happily gazed at the best DADA teacher he ever had. "What are you doing here Professor?"

"Well Harry, I'm not your Professor anymore so I guess you can just call me Remus." The werewolf smiled as he gazed upon one of his best students. "As for what I'm doing here, well, Sirius and I used to come here all the time. We used to have a blast riding this thing! But now we can ride it together, huh?"

"I'd like that." Harry replied, a sad smile on his face.

Lucius and Narcissa stared at the poorly dressed man who stood next to them on the other side of the metal railing talking to Harry. They both frowned in clear distaste at his ragged clothing but it was clear Harry knew him well. A loud clicking was heard and they shifted their eyes to the front to see the long string of cars rolling up. It stopped in front of them and the little colored pole in front of them opened so they could board the Muggle vehicle.

Hermoine scrambled into the very first seat in front and moved to the far side, patting the seat next to her. "Get in!"

The blonde Slytherin glanced at his father uncertainly.

"You will have to be brave, Draco." Lucius remarked as he carefully climbed into the seat directly behind Hermoine. "If these Muggles can survive this I'm sure we can. We are superior to them are we not?"

"Of course, Father." He quickly joined Hermoine in the front car and glanced around. The seat was smooth and slightly warm from the morning sun. A strange metal bar was in front of them and he watched silently as she pulled it down over their hips. The front of the car dipped down somewhat and he could see the track in front. He felt the vibrations of other people boarding the odd train and he leaned back in his seat slightly nervous.

Hermoine twisted around partway so she could see Lucius and Narcissa behind them. "Pull the metal bar down over your laps."

Lucius did so and it clicked in place. A few moments later a man came by and checked that all the metal bars were secure. When he was satisfied he disappeared again from wherever he had come from. The senior Malfoy glanced around with interest, his wife sitting next to him. He had brought his snake-headed cane with him as he wasn't about to go anywhere without his wand, Muggles or no Muggles. He tightened his grip on it now and leaned forward slightly. "What will happen now?"

As if on cue, the train rolled forward smoothly and went down a slight incline, picking up speed. It traveled along a large curve and headed for a steep hill. Draco stared wide-eyed at the rise before them and then he found himself leaning backward heavily against the seat as the whole thing moved upward. When he glanced off to his right he saw only empty air and he tremor of fear passed through his body. Heights didn't bother the teenage Slytherin; if they did he certainly would be the Seeker on the House team. But he trusted his broom; it was familiar. But Muggles had built this thing and he was uncertain if he could trust Muggles. The cars climbed higher and soon he could see a bird's eye view of the entire park. The buildings and other ride down below looked like miniature toys instead of large full-size objects. The top of the hill was rapidly approaching and he suddenly remembered the steep drop he had seen from the ground. Surely they weren't going to go down that hill, were they?

"Hang on!" Hermoine instructed him as the coaster slowly inched over the curved top.

Draco attempted to swallow but his mouth had gone dry and he clung to the front part of the coaster with white knuckles. Then inch-by-inch it slipped over the mound and he found himself staring straight down. The sensation that he would tumble from his seat filled him; it seemed impossible that he wouldn't. The car balanced that way for what seemed forever but was in fact just a few seconds. Then gravity won and the cars plummeted down with incredible speed. The wind whipped his hair off his forehead and he felt his body rise up from the surface of the seat as he was momentarily weightless, the metal bar over his lap keeping him in place. Draco screamed in terror as he was convinced he was about to die.

Lucius and Narcissa screamed as well, the view straight down at the track frightening. Both clung with desperation to the bar that was on the back of the seat in front of them. In the seat behind the two Malfoys, Lupin laughed gleefully and Harry clung to the ride with utter horror, convinced that _The Eagle_ was far worse than Voldemort.

Then the ride reached the bottom and lurched violently as it sped up the next rise. Hermoine shrieked joyfully and stuck both hands high in the air. The cars sped down another hill and then around a curve. Draco found his body shoved against Hermoine from the speed and it was all he could do to hang on. The roar of the wheels was loud in his ears and the wind in his face. Then the ride raced through the infrastructure before hopping up and down more hills. It went into a tight turn that seemed to spiral further downward before passing through the infrastructure again. He was becoming convinced that the mad Muggle ride would never end but the cars passed over something and he felt a jerk as the train slowed. By the time they rolled into the station again they were almost to a complete stop. The metal bar holding him inside the car clicked and Hermoine pushed it up. She happily scrambled out and motioned him to follow her.

Hermoine led their little party out and once they reached the main thoroughfare again she stopped to look at them expectantly. "So? What did you think?"

Draco raised a cultured eyebrow. "Are the other rides like that?"

"Well, some of them are." Hermoine replied as she watched them carefully for some kind of reaction. The problem was that the Malfoys were experienced at hiding their emotions so it was hard to tell what they were feeling. Lupin was obviously in a good mood and Harry seemed quite excited so it was clear he had enjoyed the ride. "Others are a tad slow…"

"And we can go on these rides as much as we want?" Draco asked as he waited impatiently for her to reply. When he saw her nod he reached out and firmly gripped her wrist. "Come on, Granger."

Hermoine stumbled along behind him until she caught up to his longer-legged pace. "Where are we going?"

But the answer was clear enough when he dragged her through the gateway for _The Eagle_. The others glanced at each other and quickly broke out into a mad dash back to the ride. The place still wasn't crowded so they could run through the pathway up to the ride but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

To be continued…

AN: Well, I hope that was OK. _The Eagle_ is based on a real ride and I tried to make it as realistic as I could. It's actually my favorite roller coaster. Since I had an uneven number of people I brought Lupin into the story. I'm uncertain what Harry calls Lupin when he's not a teacher. So can anyone tell me if he goes by 'Remus' or 'Lupin'?


	9. Owl Cages and Fake Logs

Symbiosis 9

Author's Note: As some of you already know, I was forced to stop working on my stories due to the too-hot summer. My computer refused to work for several months due to the heat and humidity. But I'm back now so I'll continue this story. I'm not sure what ride they shall go on next but I'll think up something. Oh, and someone a while back was concerned that Remus would go home with the Malfoys. Don't worry, he _won't_! I just added him to the story to even out the numbers for riding the coaster. It's no fun to ride alone, you know. I _suppose_ I could have had Lucius ride with Harry but then Narcissa would be by herself. So it was a number problem really. Nor could I just have Ron show up, not to mention the Weasleys would get into a fight with the Malfoys – defeating Hermoine's purpose. At the moment, I have no intention of bringing the Weasleys into this story. They are off doing business for the Order no doubt…

The small group exited from the _Eagle_ again and clustered together in the middle of the wide avenue. Draco had never imagined that Muggles would have anything so exciting. Riding on the roller coaster had been almost as much fun as playing Quidditch if not more so. Most Quidditch games were usually spoiled by the fact that Potter always beat him and that left a sour taste in his mouth. And how was he supposed to beat a Fire Bolt, anyway? It was the fastest broom in the world! But these roller coaster things were great! He just had to sit in the seat and hang on for dear life, the wind blowing through his hair. And even sitting next to Hermoine wasn't too bad, which was a bit surprising. If only she'd stop throwing her arm over his shoulder! Gryffindors and their closeness! Ha!

His gray eyes flickered around the nearby area, searching for another ride to go on. Of course, it _had_ been a bit unnerving trusting his life to a strange Muggle contraption, especially one that towered so high up in the air! Yet he knew Granger would never kill herself or Potter…

"So, are you enjoying yourself, Harry?" Remus Lupin asked as he smiled at the green-eyed boy. "That old coaster is a real blast, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Harry admitted. He had been scared to death during the entire first ride, his knuckles white from gripping the metal bar in front of him. He had been sure he'd fall out of the seat on that first steep hill and had even felt his body lift upward, only the thin bar across his thighs holding him in. His nerves were still jumping wildly and he made a show of adjusting his glasses. He just prayed that Hermoine wouldn't think of food. If she did, he was liable to throw up. Worst, she hadn't even been hanging on! His emerald eyes shifted to his best friend where she stood next to Draco. She was getting way too chummy with the blonde Slytherin, even if that was the plan. Before they'd know it, they would be _laughing_ together. Turning back to Lupin, Harry excused himself. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Of course, Harry."

"Hermoine," Harry said as he reached her side. "Wasn't it a bit reckless not to hang on to the ride? What if you would have fallen out? You could have been killed!"

Lucius and Narcissa also waited for her reply, curious. Since they had been seated directly behind Hermoine and Draco, both had noticed her hands up in the air.

"Oh, Harry! You worry about too much!" Hermoine laughed. "It's a _ride_, Harry! As long as you remain seated, you can't fall out! It's designed that way. Besides, about half the people that ride on roller coasters put their hands up in the air."

"Yet you won't ride a broom…" Harry remarked dryly.

"Well, I just don't like brooms." Hermoine admitted quietly as she glanced around to make sure no Muggles were in hearing distance. Satisfied they were still alone, at least for the moment, she moved forward and gave Harry a tight hug. Releasing him, she stepped back slightly and smiled brightly. Her plan was working brilliantly so far. Draco had not only enjoyed riding the _Eagle_ but had dragged them all back on it a second time. His parents seemed to have enjoyed it, too. Anyway, she guessed they did. Although Narcissa had complained of the loud noise the rides made, Hermoine couldn't really blame her for that. The amusement park was a wildly different environment than Malfoy Manor. They needed to get out and _see_ the world and what it had to offer, to learn to unwind and actually have _fun_. That, more than anything, was the problem with Slytherins. They were always so serious. Well, when they weren't acting like stupid, insulting gits, that was! Waking from her inner reasoning, she thought it best to reassure all of them. "Trust me! The Muggles check the rides all the time! They have control panels that would tell them if something was wrong with a ride. And they even have stairs on the roller coaster you can walk down if it stops on the hill."

Lucius turned to regard the steep hill. He had been unaware the Muggles had steps up there in case of an emergency. Perhaps they were not really as stupid as he had thought…

"Hermoine," Draco interrupted as he nudged her arm with an elbow. Once he had her attention, he pointed towards another large ride a bit down the paved sidewalk. "What's that big owl cage thing?"

Following his finger, Harry was surprised to see that Draco was right. The next ride over did look like giant owl cages! The thing had three giant arms that poked high into the air; each arm an equal distance from the other. Thick metal bars stuck out of the end of each arm, much like petals on a daisy. And from each steel petal hung giant owl cages. As Harry gawked at the unfamiliar ride, the arms slowly revolved so that the cages were lifted high into the air.

"Oh! That's a type of Ferris wheel." Hermoine explained as she watched it move. "As you can see, it moves very slow but you can see the entire park from up at the top. Normally a Ferris wheel is this huge wheel that slowly revolves around and gives you a bird's eye view of everything in sight. But only two people fit on a normal wheel so I guess this one is good for family groups…"

"Well," Lucius remarked as he placed an arm around Harry and Hermoine's shoulders from behind. "Why don't we go on it then? Were you not saying yesterday about us being a pride of lions?"

Harry gulped, his stomach protesting. He could feel the weight of the Death Eater's arm across his back near his neck, his gloved hand resting on the curve of his shoulder. It was bad enough he had to spend the day with the man, but this fake friendship act he didn't need. Without moving, he shifted his gaze sideways to Hermoine and noted she appeared slightly nervous, too. Good. At least she remembered what Lucius really was: a Death Eater and probably Voldemort's right hand man, unless Wormtail had that privilege? But the rat-like man seemed to be more of a flunky. Stepping forward so the arm fell free of him, Harry started to stalk towards the ride. "Let's go then."

Within moments they reached the ride, the name _Tri Wheel_ spelled out in big three-dimensional letters. One of the giant owl cages rested on the ground and Hermoine led them right up to it. One by one they crawled inside and the ride attendant closed the door, securing it. A round bench ran around the outer circumference of the cage except for where the door was and everyone settled down on it. Harry made sure he was seated between Hermoine and Lupin, although he kept a careful watch on the Malfoys. He still found it hard to believe that Hermoine actually trusted the tall platinum blonde man with the hard gray eyes. What was to stop him from sending a secret message to the other Death Eaters? He could have easily done that any time last night or even this morning! Could that be Lupin's _real_ reason for showing up at the park today? Had the Order sent him to rescue them from the clutches of the Malfoys? If so, what was Remus waiting for, a moment alone perhaps or was it a scheduled rescue at a certain time? Shifting on the wooden bench, Harry glanced out between the bars of the cage. The bars were wide enough apart that he could see an unobstructed view and he eagerly scanned the area for other Order members. A slight frown creased the corners of his lips when he didn't spot them immediately, but maybe that was to be expected. The Malfoys would have to be caught unawares, no doubt. And the Muggles: their safety would have to be seen to as well. Lucius Malfoy was a dangerous man and all possibilities had to be taken into account carefully to ensure success. The last thing Harry wanted was for some innocent Muggle family to get killed because of him; he had enough deaths on his hands the way it was and didn't need more on his conscience.

Draco sat between Hermoine and his mother on the wide bench. He had to admit he'd never been in an owl cage before and glanced around with interest. In the center of the cage a round handrail rose from the floor but the Pureblood leaned back and ignored it. If Granger wasn't hanging on to anything, he didn't need to, either! His stomach gave a slight jolt and his gray eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly recovered. The cage had risen off the ground and was now slowly moving upward, the funny feeling in his stomach being similar to when his broom lifted off the ground. Glancing upward, he couldn't help but notice the big steel ring the cage hung suspended from and he tried very hard not to imagine it breaking. The Muggles surely knew what they were doing…

An uncomfortable silence had settled over the group and Hermoine spoke up in an attempt to fill it in. "So, how do you like the amusement park so far?"

"Well, I must admit I never imagined that Muggles had such a place like this…" Narcissa said from where she sat between her son and husband. Her blue eyes scanned the area outside the cage with frank curiosity. All sorts of strange Muggle objects poked up from between the green trees and the gray pavement. Flags and banners waved in the wind gaily and the sun shown brightly from above. It truly was a nice day; the sky slowly turning into a brilliant blue. Down below the pavement was starting to become more crowded as hundreds of Muggles arrived with their families in tow. A slight frown crossed her face as she realized she'd have to rub elbows with them in a manner … be surrounded on all sides by the horrid beasts!

Picking up on his wife's mood, Lucius took her hand in his own and squeezed it. He had felt the same trepidation at the zoo yesterday until he had realized the Muggles were quite blind to the truth. "Don't worry, Narcissa. As long as you don't do anything obvious in front of them, they don't know."

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice uncertain. Like any Pureblood, she knew the reason for the enforced secrecy: Muggles _killed_ witches and wizards. For the moment she was safe, the bars of the cage forming a sanctuary of sorts; yet she knew all too soon the ride would come to an end and then she'd have to face her fear. The big owl cage was slowly spinning around near the top of the ride now and she could see the thickening crowds below. Excited voices floated up to their ears as well as shrieks from the other rides. This was all combined with the thumping music from other rides and the loud whine of the motors that made the rides go. "I … I've never been out between Muggles before…"

Hermoine couldn't help but smile at the sight of Lucius holding his wife's hand to comfort her in the strange and frightening situation. It was sweet actually and she hoped that Harry noticed. To make certain that he did, she jabbed her elbow into his side to get his attention, motioning with her eyes. She needed him to see the proof that he wasn't as cold-blooded as they had thought; that maybe there was hope for him yet. Everybody could use a little hope. Still smiling, Hermoine started to reassure her. "Oh, Muggles aren't really all that bad. Just act normal and they'll think you're one of them. Besides, they really don't know magic even exists and at the moment they're all busy running from ride to ride."

The Pureblood witch glanced down at her disguise. She supposed in the designer blue top and the black pants she _did_ look like a Muggle. The thought was a little disturbing, actually. To live one's whole life without magic! How could Muggles do it? Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to imagine what it would be like: no house elves, no wand, no flue powder or apparating, even no Quidditch! It would be utterly _horrible_! A tremor passed through her body and she quickly reopened her eyes to reassure herself it was just a thought, nothing more. Yet how could Muggles not realize she was a witch? How could the physical appearance of the two separate groups be so similar and yet be so different on the inside? How could such a thing come to be? Up until this moment, Narcissa had never really given any thought to Muggles. They had always just been there as annoying but distant creatures. But now ignoring them was not an option. The remote enemy was suddenly up close and had a face. They were _real_ now. "How … how can they live without magic?"

"Well, they have refrigerators and freezers and cars…" Hermoine started to explain, but then stopped when she saw the blank expressions on the Purebloods' faces. Of course they wouldn't know what a refrigerator was. They used magic to keep food fresh, not technology. "They use science…"

"Science?" Narcissa asked as she turned to look at the bushy haired girl sitting on the other side of her son. The witch realized that Hermoine was in the perfect position to explain it all to them, as she had a foot in each world.

"Science is how Muggles study the world and explain how it works. They make up rules. For example, the rules of gravity tell us that things fall to the ground when dropped. Magic follows rules as well. If you don't do a spell the right way it won't work."

Draco's gray eyes flickered to Harry and he laughed. "Potter knows _that_ rule all too well in Potions, don't you, Potter?"

Remembering he was supposed to be befriending Draco, Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I do."

"I guess all you _really_ have to know is that Muggles have found other ways to do everything you do with magic." Hermoine decided that maybe the simple explanation was best. She certainly wasn't going to admit she didn't really know how a car or refrigerator worked. No, that would be too complex. "And in some ways they have surpassed it, you know. Muggles have walked on the moon and have dozens of satellites up in orbit."

"Ah, come on, Hermoine! Do you actually expect us to _believe_ that?" Draco rolled his eyes and sneered at her, skeptical of her words. "We're Purebloods, not stupid! Although I expect Longbottom would fall that that one…"

"But it's true!" Hermoine insisted. "Neil Armstrong walked on the moon's surface way back in the 1960s and he did it with Muggle technology!"

Harry nodded. "It's true."

Draco was still suspicious and suspected some sort of prank at his expense. "And how exactly did they get there?"

"In America they have this place called Cape Canaveral where they launch rockets into space. People often watch it on their TVs but many go down to the launch site to see it in person. I understand it attracts huge crowds. It's supposed to be a spectacular thing to see…" Hermoine informed them.

The Slytherin teen frowned. He didn't like the idea that Muggles could do things that Wizards couldn't. It just wasn't right! They were _Muggles_!

"And this sat-thing?" Lucius prompted.

"Oh! They're like big cameras up in space that track stuff on the ground. They follow weather patterns around the globe and also help aircraft land or take-off." Hermoine explained, a bit relieved that Wizards knew what cameras were and had their own that created moving pictures.

Draco craned his head back and stared up at the sky. Was there some Muggle thing up there watching him?

Harry snickered. _Stupid git!_

"What are you laughing at, Potter? You think it's funny that some sat-lite is _spying_ on us?" Draco scowled; his fine whitish-blonde bangs hanging in his eyes.

That was too much and Harry guffawed loudly, slapping his thigh with a hand.

"Oh, it's not funny, Harry!" Hermoine complained, annoyed at her friend. They were supposed to be making _friends_ with the Malfoys, not laughing at their ignorance of Muggle technology! Sliding closer to Draco, she wrapped a reassuring arm around his shoulders. "You just ignore him. I think the stress from the last few days has finally gone to his head. He's always bent a bit out of shape when he comes from his Uncle's house, you know. And to answer your question, I'm sure that the satellites can't see us. They're not made that way. They track _bigger_ things, like airplanes or missiles, things like that. They don't care what individual people do…"

"Oh…" Draco replied; his voice a bit strained. The fact that her arm was around him was making him a bit nervous. If they were on the ground he could have pulled away but they were trapped inside the blasted owl cage and he was uncertain exactly what he should do. _Should_ he do anything? It really wasn't all that bad really and it certainly wasn't the first time Granger had touched him. He had stopped worrying about Mudblood contamination a while ago, sometime yesterday to be exact. Not that he was supposed to use the word _Mudblood_ anymore, but then his father couldn't read his mind. He was OK just as long as he didn't say it. Her bare arm felt warm against the back of his neck and on his shoulders. It was kind of nice in a weird sort of way yet it made his insides jump around and that wasn't exactly good. The problem was he wasn't exactly used to getting touched very much. The Malfoys weren't like the Weasleys who hugged each other all the time. Slytherins didn't _do_ that sentimental mush thing and certainly not in public! His mind quickly zipped back to what Harry had told him yesterday at the zoo, that he had better get used to being hugged by Granger. And now that he thought about it, he realized it was true. Hadn't he seen her hug Potter or Weasley a few times in the past? His eyes flickered past Potter to the outside of the owl cage. The ride was coming near the ground and soon he'd be able to exit anyway. She would be forced to release him and then he didn't have to think about it anymore…

Until next time, that was.

With a gentle bump, the cage settled onto the ground and the ride attendant opened the door. One by one they all climbed out and filed through the ride's exit. This ride had lasted much longer than the roller coaster, mainly because it had moved at a much slower pace. Once they were through the exit and had moved off to the side, the Purebloods stared in shock.

The park was literally _filled_ with Muggles!

Narcissa clung to her husband's arm, slightly frightened. Where had they all come from? They swarmed through the wide avenue like ants. No two were dressed exactly alike. The clothing styles varied from simple T-shirts and shorts to dresses to jeans and so on. The Muggles laughed, pushed baby strollers, drank assorted drinks, smoked cigarettes and lined up by food booths. A few teenagers wandered by toting huge stuffed animals bigger then themselves! And over there … was that toddler on a _leash_? Children with sticky faces and hands ran screaming past, the parents racing to catch up with them. Even an elderly man in a wheelchair rolled past pushed by a younger man. Yet no one spared them even the slightest glance.

"You see?" Hermoine remarked as she stood near the Pureblood witch. "They don't know."

The older witch nodded her understanding and felt slightly relieved.

Draco watched the swarming crowd and realized this place was far more crowded than the zoo had been. But unlike his mother, the crowd of Muggles didn't concern him all that much. No, he was looking forward to going on another one of those rides, preferably something a bit more exciting this time. That owl cage one had seemed boring after the exhilaration of the _Eagle_. The back of his neck felt slightly cool now that Hermoine had removed her arm and he tried to ignore that fact. Still, he supposed he _had_ liked it in a way, even if it had made him nervous at the time. Maybe getting hugged once in a while wasn't so bad after all. "So, what ride should we go on next?"

Harry shrugged as he eyed the crowd for possible Order members. "Don't ask me…"

"Come on, Hermoine." Draco urged as he grinned at her, his teeth perfect and white. "Recommend another one of those exciting rides. That last one was kind of dull…"

The teenage witch glanced around as she tried to remember what ride was where. Truthfully, she was surprised that the blonde Slytherin had actually _liked_ the roller coaster and had willingly, no, eagerly had boarded it a second time! Pulling the mental map of the park up in her mind, she considered the nearby possibilities. "Well, there's a water ride nearby if you don't mind getting a little wet. It's nice out so our clothes should dry pretty fast."

"A water ride?" Lucius blinked, taken aback. "I hadn't realized this place had water rides…"

"Oh, it has several of them." Hermoine explained happily. "They can be quite fun if its not too cool out."

"You mean like a boat?" Draco asked, remembering First Year and the trip across the lake. "Boats aren't exactly exciting, Granger."

"These boats are slightly different." Hermoine assured him as she once again took his wrist and started leading the way. Lucius and Narcissa followed right on their son's heels so they wouldn't get separated. The last thing they wanted to do was get lost in the crowd of Muggles.

Harry, however, wasn't that concerned with separation. Hanging back slightly, he turned his attention to Lupin. "So, did the Order send you here? Are they planning a rescue?"

"A rescue?" Lupin asked, unsure how to reply. What should he say to Harry?

"Remus, you must know this is _not_ normal! You _know_ he's a Death Eater and belongs in Azkaban! Yesterday he showed up on my Uncle's doorstep and Uncle Vernon was all to glad to hand me over. So now I'm stuck. I suppose I _could_ run away in this crowd but I can't leave Hermoine. She has some crazy idea of _reforming_ them, I think. I mean, that's crazy, don't you think?"

"I'm not too sure what to say, Harry. I wish I did, but I'm not an expert at anything really. I'm just proud you learned the Patronis so well…" Lupin said softly. "I admit the Order sent me to keep an eye on you for the time being…"

"So there's not going to be a rescue." Harry stated, his voice low and grating. A part of the anger he had felt at the Headmaster at the end of the school year came back full force. Here he was, kidnapped by the Malfoys, and Dumbledore didn't even care! His heels struck the ground with more force and he increased his pace. And even though he had hung back slightly to speak to Lupin, not once had he taken his green eyes off Hermoine. He wasn't that stupid. He couldn't chance losing one of the only friend's he had.

"It's obvious you can't stay with the Dursleys any longer." Remus remarked in his gentle voice. The werewolf was one of the gentlest people that Harry had ever met. Of course, that didn't count when he was transformed and had no control over his actions. "I know you think the Headmaster blind to your plight during the summer months and what goes on in that house, but I assure you he isn't. He has considered the matter for longer than you think and it does weigh heavy on him. But there's no easy solution, I'm afraid."

"Why can't I just stay with the Weasleys?" Harry asked. He thought of his red-haired friend and the good time the three of them could have had here at the amusement park. The Weasleys were the exact opposite of the Malfoys. They were warm and caring, generous to an alarming point, kind and had a home filled with warm fuzzies. The Malfoys were cold and distant and owned a house of antiques you couldn't touch. If he had a choice, he'd choose the Weasleys in a heartbeat.

"I'm sure Dumbledore told you why before." Lupin sighed. "You have to stay with a relative. And unfortunately the Weasleys are not related to you."

Harry smiled sadly. "I'm sure Mr. Weasley would love to see this place…"

"I'm sure he would." Lupin agreed and returned the sad smile. The werewolf knew of Arthur's fascination with Muggle things. Once closing time would come, they would have to drag him out kicking and screaming…

The Boy That Lived frowned. He didn't want to go back to his Aunt and Uncle. Turning to glance at the werewolf, he grasped at straws. "Look, don't I have _any_ other relatives? Besides the Dursleys, I mean. I was planning on going to live with Sirius but…"

Lupin glanced down at his worn shoes. "Look, Harry. I'm not sure I'm the right one to tell you this…"

Harry's head snapped around to look at Remus. "Tell me what?"

"Well, who your other relatives are…"

Emerald green eyes growing wide in astonishment, Harry focused all his attention on his ex-professor. When he spoke, his voice was oddly flat. "So I _do_ have another relative? A Muggle or a Wizard?"

"Wizards." Remus admitted with a loud sigh. "But I don't want you to get your hopes up. This isn't a perfect world, as you already know all too well. People aren't perfect and neither are these distant relatives of yours. They're even more distant to you than Sirius was…"

The teenager considered what the werewolf had said. "So they're not a blood relative then?"

"No." Remus admitted. "They're related to you through Sirius, in fact."

That stopped Harry cold.

Through Sirius… 

Once again Harry saw himself standing in Grimwald Place and looking at the Black family tapestry. He remembered the other familiar name he had seen on it. His gaze lifted to the Purebloods just in front of him. Narcissa held onto her husband's arm with one hand as they followed Hermoine and Draco.

"You have _got_ to be kidding!"

"Now Harry, I told you this isn't a perfect world." Lupin reminded the teenager softly. "There's no easy solution to your problem."

"But the _Malfoys_? That's just crazy! He's an escapee from Azkaban!"

"So was Sirius…"

"But that was different! He was innocent!" Harry pointed out in a shrill voice.

"So you want to go back to the Dursleys?" Lupin asked. "Dumbledore thought this could be a trial weekend to see how it goes."

"Oh, that's just great!" Harry mumbled and hurried to catch up with the others. Hermoine and Draco had just reached the water ride, something called _The Flume Shoot_. The art near the ride showed a colorful illustration of a hollow log riding on a plume of white water, so it was obviously a log ride. The Boy That Lived managed to get into the line just behind Lucius and Narcissa before other people could cut him off. He could sense the werewolf's presence behind him but he wasn't too sure what he should say. Besides, what _could_ he say? He didn't want to stay with the Dursleys anymore, that much was certain. But were the Malfoys any better? The thing is; could he really _trust_ them? He didn't think so but Hermoine seemed to think he could. And he trusted Hermoine. So should he listen to her?

_But how do I know she's not under the Imperious Curse_?

Her behavior just wasn't normal! Being chummy with the Malfoys wasn't normal! Was she just being optimistic? Was she being a perfect Gryffindor and trying to see the good in everyone, even Draco and Lucius? Narcissa, well, he supposed he could give _her_ the benefit of the doubt, as he didn't really know her at all. And she clearly was trying. The whole situation of being at the amusement park surrounded by Muggles and their machines must be frightening to her, he supposed. He tried to imagine himself in her place and had to admit he'd probably be scared right out of his socks. In fact, the roller coaster _had_ scared him!

"I think I see now why the Muggles got these rope things everywhere…" Draco muttered to Hermoine as he stood in line right behind her.

"Shhhh! They don't _know_ they're Muggles!" She hissed at him, afraid someone might here. But if anyone did, they didn't care. Both the people in front and behind their small party were blabbing their own stuff and paid not the slightest bit of attention. Even Lucius' silver snake-headed cane didn't merit a second glance.

"Well, what am I supposed to call them then?" Draco asked, a confused crease in the center of his forehead.

"How am I supposed to know?" Hermoine replied, slightly annoyed.

"Because you're the Know It All. Snape says so." Draco replied.

Hermoine's lips tightened and she glared at him. "You're really asking for it, do you know that?"

"Of course I am! I just asked you!" Draco rolled his gray eyes. "Merlin! How could you not hear me?"

A smiled played across Hermoine's lips. "You want to know what you can call them? Well, you can call them Homo sapiens. How's that?"

"Homo what?" Draco asked, puzzled once again.

"And Snape is a Neanthradel!" Hermoine declared, quite pleased with herself and her cleverness. "You make sure you tell him that next time you see him."

"Tell him? I can't even _say_ it!" Draco exclaimed loudly.

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged glances and both shrugged their shoulders in defeat. It was clearly more Muggle stuff.

The line moved forward and upward. After some time had passed, they could finally see the long hollowed out logs they were to ride in. Draco eyed one of the logs skeptically from a distance. "We're not going to ride in one of those, are we? What if it sinks? I mean it's a _log_!"

Hermoine was the one to roll her eyes this time. "It's not a _real_ log!"

Draco gaped dumbly at her. "You mean they got _fake_ logs?"

"Of course they do!" Hermoine huffed. "They can't _afford_ real logs! They're too expensive! They chop all the trees down to make telephone posts and such so people can watch their television sets! So they make a boat _look_ like a log on the outside! I'm sure it's plastic, the outside I mean. You know, vinyl? Acrylic? Hmmm… there's particle board that's made from sawdust…."

All three Malfoys gaped at her open-mouthed, totally clueless.

"Well, the only thing I suppose you really need to know is the thing floats." Hermoine added on second thought.

Draco could now see the fake logs better, as they had moved closer. The logs floated in a narrow water channel that ran through the middle of a long building. The blonde teen shook his head. Only Muggles would build a building with a river going right through the middle! What he didn't realize though was that the so-called river was man-made. The logs themselves were sharpened to a point on the front, similar to a pencil. The back was cut straight across. People quickly piled in and out of the moving logs. And unlike the roller coaster where two people could sit side-by-side, here one sat in front of the other.

"Now, I think we all can fit into one log…" Hermoine remarked as her sharp brown eyes studied the logs. "But you need to move quickly. See, the log keeps moving…"

"Isn't it going to stop?" Draco asked. The roller coaster had stopped.

"No, it's not." Hermoine replied matter-of-factly. "Now the taller people should sit in the back…"

"I'll sit in the very back." Lupin offered. He'd been on the log ride before, with Sirius and knew how to get in and out of the boat quickly.

"You need to hang onto the person in front of you, sit as close as possible." Hermoine instructed. "It's like a toboggan, although I don't suppose you know what that is…"

And then it was their turn.

Lupin dashed out to the next empty log and quickly jumped into the very back. "I got us a log! Hurry and get in!"

The Malfoys, Hermoine and Harry hurried over to the log. A single long seat ran through the center of the boat from the bow to the stern, an empty space on either side for your feet to go. Lucius frowned at the wet seat but carefully climbed in and sat down in front of Lupin. Holding a hand out, he helped his wife in. He wrapped his arms around her waist securely, her back against his chest. He wasn't too sure what to do with his cane. These Muggle rides just weren't designed to accommodate people's hidden wands! But he slid the long end into the gap meant for legroom and awkwardly clung to it with one hand. It would have to do…

"Get in, Harry!" Hermoine shooed her friend with her hands.

Harry wasn't too crazy about sitting next to either of the adult Malfoys but he decided it was best to do as Hermoine said. Reaching down, he gripped the rim of the log and hopped in. Once both of his feet were in the proper gaps, he lowered himself to the flat seat. Hermoine was already climbing in just in front of him and she motioned for him to move farther backward. So Harry slid back until he was just in front of Narcissa. She awkwardly clung to his waist and Harry suspected that once the log really started to move her hold would turn into a death grip.

"Get in!" Hermoine told Draco.

"The seat is wet." Draco complained as he eyed it with distaste, a frown on his pointed face. "I'll get my pants wet…"

"All the seats are wet, you stupid ferret! It's a _water_ ride!" Reaching out, Hermoine caught Draco's T-shirt and yanked him into the log by force. "Now sit!"

"The water belongs on the _outside_ of the boat, Granger. Don't you _know_ that?" Draco remarked. He was sitting in a puddle of water and it had already soaked through his pants. "Great! Just great! My pants are wet and it's all thanks to you!"

Hermoine wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and clung like devil's snare. Then she started laughing. If Draco thought he was wet _now_….! Boy, did he have a surprise coming!

The log moved slowly forward until it bumped the back of the log just in front of it. Draco's scowl deepened. Why did Hermoine have to sit so close for? Her legs were practically wrapped around his hips! Of course, they were _all_ sitting that way inside the log. It was what Hermoine had meant when she had said 'toboggan-style'. He had thought the arm around his shoulders had been bad, but this was far worst. He was trapped inside a moving log with her and she had planned it! Everyone always said how cunning Slytherins were but Gryffindors were far worst! He felt dampness creep into his shoes and he glanced down into one of the gaps where his foot rested, only to see sloshing water. "You planned this, didn't you, Granger?"

"You wanted an exciting ride! Now stop whining!" Hermoine ordered. "And you'll be _glad_ I'm hanging onto you when we go down the hill!"

"Wait! What hill? Boats don't go down hills!" He exclaimed loudly. Just then the log moved out of the long building and outside light stabbed him in the eyes. He squinted for a moment until his eyes grew accustomed to the brightness. He looked where the log was heading and saw it was riding inside some metal channel. And up ahead there was some steep hill, other logs traveling upward. His mouth gaped open in astonishment. "What kind of river is this?"

"It's not a river!" Hermoine replied.

The log bumped into the steep hill, which was really a type of conveyor belt. The log tilted upward and started its journey to the top. Almost immediately Draco spotted a little pipe that was spraying water just like the fountains at school. The problem was if the log continued up the hill the water would spray right on him! "There's a fountain!"

"EEEEEEEEEE! A fountain!" Hermoine squealed with excitement and quickly leaned to one side of the log to avoid it, pulling Draco with her. The water only sprayed them a bit on their right arms, which wasn't too bad. Hermoine giggled and pointed out the next upcoming fountain with excitement.

Harry, who was deep in thought about his living arrangement predicament, hadn't been paying attention and the first fountain sprayed him right in the face. Sputtering and shocked, he searched for the culprit who had tossed water on him. Of course, he didn't see anyone. On both sides of the log was open air with what appeared to be a long drop. Removing his glasses, he started to clean the lenses on a dry patch of T-shirt. And thus the second one sprayed him as well, which soaked the top of his head.

Behind Harry, Lucius and Narcissa hadn't expected that the Muggles would design the ride so that the riders got wet from tiny fountains. They both got caught by the first one but after that kept a sharp eye out for more of them. In the very back, Lupin didn't care if he got wet. It was part of the ride after all and the werewolf laughed with glee.

The log reached the top and slowly floated along a long curve of metal. The metal looked similar to a long pipe that had gotten cut in half and partly filled with water. And at the other end….

Draco's gray eyes widened as he spotted the upcoming drop. Like the first hill on the _Eagle_, it was pretty steep but nowhere near as high. Still, they were a good distance up in the air. Thick currents of water ran down the slide-like surface and the flat-bottomed log would slide down this fast and smooth. The edge was coming closer and closer. Terrified, Draco jammed both feet near the front of the boat and leaned back against Hermoine. He was very aware that this time there was nothing to hold him in the log except the girl's arms. The log's front went over the edge and it tilted forward…

Just at this moment Harry had finally dried his glasses for the third time and put them on his face. His green eyes bulged at the sight before him and quickly clung to Hermoine for dear life.

"AAAHHhhhhhhhh!" Draco shrieked as the log plummeted down the water-filled incline. Waves of water crashed over both sides of the metal slide, drenching the distant ground. His pale bangs were forced back by the wind and he desperately clung to the outer edges of the log with white knuckles. The bottom was rapidly approaching and then the boat splashed down. Just as it did so, Hermoine ducked down behind the blonde Slytherin, giggling. A wall of cold water sprayed upward and instantly drenched everyone in the log! Thanks to Hermoine smartly ducking, Harry received a double face full of icy water.

Soaked to the skin, Draco sat in the front of the log dumbfounded. He glanced down at his wet clothes. "I'm wet…"

To be continued…

Hope this chapter was good! I made it extra long to make up for the delay in story chapters.


	10. A Raft Ride

Symbiosis 10

Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews last chapter! And no, this is not a Draco/Hermoine romance. They're just friends in this story. OK?

Soaked to the skin, Draco sat in the front of the log dumbfounded. He glanced down at his wet clothes. "I'm wet…"

Hermoine giggled. "It's a water ride! What did you expect?"

"I didn't expect to get soaked!" Draco complained as he crawled out of the log onto the solid platform. His shoes squished noisily with each step and he could feel water moving between his toes. A scowl on his pointed face, he shoved his dripping bangs out of his gray eyes. Stupid Granger, dragging him onto a ride like that! What had she been thinking? Did she think it was fun to walk around all day in wet clothes? Worst, he couldn't even use his wand to dry himself! Why, he had been forced to leave his wand at home. His frown deepening, he stomped down the wooden Muggle path that led away from the ride. He could hear the others following him and he paused on the wooden ramp that led back to the busy avenue. Turning, he was surprised to see that most of the others looked relatively dry. His gray eyes narrowed suspiciously as he scrutinized them all. Harry's dark hair was wet in places but it was starting to dry already. He also had a wet patch on the front of his T-shirt. And both of his parents were dry as far as he could tell, as was Lupin. Then his eyes shifted to Hermoine. She was a little wet; bits of her bushy hair weighed down with water. It was very clear that he was the only one dripping. Looking back the way he had come, he could even see the wet footprints he had left on the wooden walkway. His gaze was still locked on Hermoine. "You knew this was going to happen! How come you're not soaked?"

"Because I ducked?" She admitted sheepishly. "But you'll dry off soon enough! It's a really nice day."

Hmmm…. His craft Slytherin mind wrapped itself around the problem and he came up with a solution. A crooked grin appeared on his face and he patted Harry on his shoulder. "Potter, next time _you_ can sit up front!"

"Scared of a little water, are you?" Harry asked as he shoved his wet hair out of his eyes. He was secretly thankful that he hadn't been sitting up in the front or he'd be the one soaked now. His green eyes blazed into Draco's gray ones, challenging him. He still wasn't used to this friendship thing between them. It was just too odd! How could Remus expect him to go and _live_ with the Malfoys? It was crazy! But challenging Draco with words was familiar and brought him back to solid ground.

"Of course I'm not scared of water, Potter!" Draco instantly replied as he accepted the other's challenge. "I'm not a baby!"

Hermoine broke into the space between the two. "Let's go buy a photograph!"

"Photograph?" Lucius blinked at her, his wife by his side.

"There's a camera that takes a picture of the riders as the log goes down the hill! If we hurry, we can get one!" Hermoine hurried away and the others were forced to follow her. She ran over some big bulky box that sat near the exit for the ride. Curious, Draco and his parents crowded near the box. It had a sort of window on the front, except this window was like none they had ever seen before. Words ran across the window and Hermoine poked at certain parts of it with her finger.

"What exactly _is_ that thing?" Draco asked, forgetting for the moment he was dripping.

"It's a computer." Hermoine explained as she fed some of the Muggle paper money into a slot on the thing's side. "It has a touch sensitive screen."

"A computer?" Draco repeated as he gawked at the box. Before he could add anything else, the odd box started to make a loud whirring sound and moments later Hermoine pulled a photograph out of a slot on its side. Crowding closer to her, he saw that indeed it was a photograph of them sitting inside the fake log. To his utter dismay, that drat Muggle camera had caught him open-mouthed in a scream as the boat plummeted down the steep hill. And he didn't exactly like how he gripped the edge of the boat white-knuckled, either. It made him look too much the coward. Then his eyes flickered to the other riders and he smirked at the similar expression on Potter's face. Feeling slightly better, Draco leaned casually against the Muggle computer box, not caring that he was getting it wet.

"See?" Hermoine turned to show Lucius and Narcissa the photograph.

"It's not moving!" Narcissa exclaimed in shock and horror. "It's so _unnatural_!"

"Oh, our photos don't move." Hermoine quickly explained to the Pureblood witch. "They just catch a single moment of time and freezes it."

Harry wasn't really interested in the photo. He had already taken a glance at it but now he was scanning the nearby area for more rides, anything to distract him from the fact he was expected to go live with the Death Eater. How could Dumbledore _do_ such a thing? Was he getting senile on his old age or didn't he care about him at all? The way he had treated him the last year of school Harry suspected the latter. The old man kept too many secrets from him, had ignored him and that had hurt. Worst, he had forced him to take private lessons from Snape! And if anyone needed a solid drenching on a water ride it was Snape! The man looked like he never washed his hair. How could Dumbledore let someone like that teach kids? Teachers were supposed to set a positive example to the ones they taught. Then his brilliant green eyes spotted another ride and a thin smile broke on his lips. Malfoy would just _love_ it! "Hermoine, look!"

Tucking the photo away where it would be safe, Hermoine followed Harry's pointing finger. A smile broke out on her face. "Let's go!"

Glad to escape the wet water ride, Draco followed the two Gryffindors towards the next ride. But upon spotting it's name he came to a sudden halt. _Raging River Rapids_. "Don't tell me it's another bloody water ride!"

"Oh, you're already wet!" Hermoine pointed out to the blonde Slytherin. Draco's fine blonde hair was already half dry from the sun and parts of it stuck up a bit instead of laying smoothly like it usually did. Backtracking a bit, she once again gripped his wrist and hauled him into the long line that had formed outside the ride. "Don't worry; you won't get very wet on this one. It doesn't go down a hill."

"So what does it do?" Draco asked, curious. He was beginning to realize he didn't never know what to expect from these Muggle rides. Just when he thought he had it all figured out he didn't. Normally a boat would go down a river but not with Muggles, apparently. They forced boats to go down steep hills! And what in the name of Merlin was that bright yellow monstrosity on the painting for the ride? It looked like some freakish fat donut that Crabbe and Goyle would eat, not a boat!

"Well, this is a rapids ride. The boat is like a big rubber raft filled with air…" Hermoine started to explain as she attempted to describe a rubber raft. Did they even know what rubber was?

"Filled with air?" Draco repeated, shocked yet again. Didn't the Muggles have anything that was _normal_? Why did they have to make boats filled with air when wooden ones worked just fine? The loud shouting and screams coming from various rides reminded him just where he was and he scowled. Muggles didn't do _anything_ normal, not even a simple thing like a photograph. Their strange images refused to move, but then, one couldn't expect much from Muggles. Still, they seemed to enjoy getting themselves wet on purpose. Why else did the water rides have fountains attached to the sides designed to squirt the riders? Still, he had to grudgingly admit it really hadn't been that bad. Hermoine was right about the weather. He could feel the hot sun beating down on his head and shoulders, drying him naturally. Could it be that the Gryffindors were actually right when they called him a spoiled brat? Was he too used to doing everything fast with magic? A lot of magic was instantaneous. Apparating, transfiguration, hexes…

Besides, when was the last time he had actually spent the day with his parents? Truth was, he couldn't remember. Although he had always looked down at the Weasleys, he had envied them their closeness. Well, sometimes anyway. Of course, in his opinion they just had way too many kids. What was the point of having so many kids? These were modern days after all and birth control potions existed so there was no excuse for having seven kids. Seven! He doubted if they could even take care of three kids properly. Still, it would be nice if he could spend more time with his parents doing fun stuff. He glanced around and noticed that most of the Muggles here were in family groups. So in that regard, were Muggles better than the aloof Purebloods?

And on days he _did_ spend time with his parents, it usually wasn't doing this fun stuff. No, his Father expected the best of him. He had to get the best grades and when he wasn't at school he was expected to study Dark Magic. A slight chill went down his back as he thought of that horrible monstrosity that his father served. He was expected to grow up and be a Death Eater. What he wanted didn't matter. It was like how he was expected to marry a Pureblood girl. That there were very few of said girls or that he was related to most of them didn't matter. So many things didn't matter in his house. It was sad, really. His eyes flickered to Hermoine and he wondered if she could really change the way that his parents thought. He knew in the past that she and Harry had been successful with other endeavors at the school, but surely this was different? The ideas had been pounded into his parents' skulls since they were babies. Was three days really long enough to change their feelings towards Muggles?

The more he thought on the matter, the more he wondered if his parents ever had _fun_ before. He certainly never remembered having any mindless fun with them; not like they were having here at this Muggle park. The rides, he realized, were here for nothing more than entertainment. And people seemed to shriek on the rides not from fear but because it was fun to scream, which was a brand new idea to him. Before, both his parents only were concerned with proper behavior suiting a Pureblood family and that he be seen associating with the right class of people. Others should be looked down upon and ignored. Grades were valued as was the right means of dress. There were so many rules to being a Malfoy that none of them ever got to relax and just be themselves. No wonder his father started to run around with a mask and cloak; it allowed him some freedom to do crazy things. Draco supposed it might have served as a way to relieve built up stress. Wasn't that why he picked on Potter all the time at school? If it weren't for that bit of fun, school would be an absolute bore!

Turning, Draco gazed at his parents. If he didn't know any better, he would say that they both were _enjoying_ themselves! "Father, why don't we have places like this? I know we have Quidditch, but Muggles have sports, too."

"Well," Lucius replied after he had considered the matter for a moment. "I suppose its because large areas are hard to hide. You know that. And most research is aimed at more serious things."

"And what do you consider serious things?" Hermoine asked innocently as she, too, turned to watch his parents. The Gryffindor held her chin up and was thinking up her own list of serious things to bring up. This was her opportunity to impress on them that Muggles were not stupid creatures slated for extinction. Nor were they to be treated as house elves, as slaves to wizards. If she were correct, many of the things she had told the Purebloods had caught them off balance. It was clear they didn't know everything.

"A lot of research is done in the medical field." Lucius stated, knowing that to be a safe issue.

"And what of global warming?" Hermoine asked in a serious tone. "What of the depleting ozone layer and increasing radiation from space? Will everyone die from cancer? What will you do when the polar icecaps melt and the rising ocean levels floods out the country? What of forests disappearing? Without trees there's no oxygen for us to breath. Will we all die from carbon dioxide poisoning? What of pollution? Fresh, drinkable water may become scarce. And last but not least, what if the K2 event happens again? That's when the asteroid fell and landed in Mexico. It killed the dinosaurs. Do you even know what dinosaurs are? Well, it happened once and it could happen again. Anything larger than a rat instantly died as a violent blast circled the planet. We know this to be _fact_. You can see the bones in museums, you know. But if I were you, I'd start thinking about some of _these_ problems before it's too late."

The Purebloods gaped at her open-mouthed, most of what she had just said sliding over their heads. Draco, being more experienced with her Know-It-All statements, spoke up. "_Now_ what are you pattering on about? What violent blast? When? Where?"

"Oooh, you are _so_ ignorant!" Hermoine huffed. "Well, you'll be sorry when a big rock comes hurtling out of the sky and forms a giant crater!"

"A giant _rock_? You're getting all worked up over a stupid _rock_?" Draco rolled his eyes. He would have laughed, too, except he was scared she'd punch him one … again. And then his father would know that he really _was_ a coward. "And here I thought you were smart. I'd say you got hit in the head by a bludger except you don't play Quidditch…"

"Not a _little_ rock, you ferret! A _big_ one, bigger than Hogwarts! Bigger than the entire country, maybe!" Hermoine frowned. It was becoming increasingly clear wizards didn't know any history except for what they taught in _History of Magic_ class, which was almost nothing. They knew nothing of the natural history of the planet. Even the average five-year-old Muggle probably knew more than they did. Worst, they were probably in the best position to actually _do_ something to solve the world's problems. Of course, Muggles would have to cooperate as well. They'd have to start using non-polluting fuels and plant more trees, stop dumping dangerous chemicals into the water. Even pollution dumped on land made its way into the water supply thanks to rain. But if they all worked together, they could actually fix it! The world would be a healthier place for everyone. Too bad everyone couldn't use magic. As far as she knew, it didn't pollute at all. There was solar power, but that might not be a very liable method for those who lived in the northern hemisphere where there was little sun during the long cold winter. Maybe a trip to a natural history museum was in order.

"Are all of those things you mentioned real problems?" Lucius asked, one brow rose. Up until now, he had never heard of them.

"Yes, they _are_. And unfortunately, there are no easy solutions for them." Hermoine admitted sadly. "The worsening weather patterns around the world are a side affect of global warming. I'm surprised the community doesn't know about this. It's been all over the news…"

"But we don't get your news." Narcissa reminded her. "But surely these problems won't affect us, will it?"

"We all breathe the same air and drink the same water, so yes, it will affect you." Hermoine informed her, feeling slightly sorry for the Pureblood witch. It was a tad unfair to dump such a shocking bit of information in her lap in such a way, but she knew the Muggle scientists were doing all they could. Perhaps if the magical community put themselves to work on the problem as well…

"And may I presume that it was Muggles that created this problem in the first place?" Lucius asked, convinced that it was. It wasn't coincidence that big clouds of dirty smog hung over Muggle cities while the air over a wizard community, such as Hogwarts, was clear.

"Well, yes…" she admitted sheepishly. Then the fire was back in her eyes and she stared at him defiantly. "But it's not their fault! They didn't know any better! And they _are_ trying to fix it."

"Well, I suppose I _could_ mention it to someone at the Ministry…" Lucius stated with a smile. "I think the whole misunderstanding may clear up soon and then I won't have to worry about anything."

That got the attention of all three teenagers. Hermoine exchanged a glance with Harry and noticed that her good friend had apparently a lot on his mind. It almost sounded to her like Lucius somehow got himself off the hook and he wasn't worried about Azkaban anymore. Her gaze shifted to Lupin and the werewolf didn't look surprised, either. Obviously something was going on and like usual, they had been left out! She wanted to grab Harry by the arm and haul him off to a private corner to have a chat, ask him what was bothering him. For it was clear that something _was_ bothering him. He was brooding again in silence, which wasn't a good sign. But they were stuck in the long line for the ride. Glancing towards the front, Hermoine was pleased to see that it was almost time to board the rubber raft. After the ride was over, she was determined to have a heart to heart talk with him.

The line moved forward and then it was time to board the bright yellow craft. The large raft was circular and held eight black seats, each with a tall backrest to lean against. The seats were arranged in a circle with a common round bar in the circle to grip. The six of them easily climbed onto the raft and each took a seat, two seats remaining empty. And like Hermoine had promised Draco, they wouldn't get very wet on this ride. As the raft floated along the narrow channel where one boarded the craft, it grew closer and closer to the man-made river. The river's mouth approached and the water grew rougher. Soon the craft was bouncing up and down on the swells of white water, turning this way and that as it followed the river. As river rides go, it wasn't really all that rough. Mainly the water was just wild enough to make the raft bounce a bit up and down to create some excitement. Then the dark maw of a cave was ahead and the raft entered it. The inside was as dark as night and no one could see anything. Everyone's grip on the handrail increased and someone shrieked as a thin curtain of water brushed against his or her face in the darkness. The sound of the sloshing water was amplified in the inky blackness, the sensation of movement also amplified. Then a round circle of light was ahead and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. A short time later the raft once again entered the narrow channel and everyone exited.

Locking her eyes on Harry, Hermoine gripped him and started to drag him towards a nearby eating-place. It was time for them to have that talk.

To be continued…


	11. Confrontation!

Symbiosis 11

Author's Note: Sorry the last chapter was so bad. I admit I was sleepy when I wrote it…hopefully this one will be better and more interesting, as it will include a confrontation!

Hermoine dragged Harry to a relatively empty corner near the eating area. Tall green shrubs rose up behind them, the bushy broad-leaved plants offering them some privacy on one side. The far corner of the restaurant was on their other side and although they were standing out in the open, she knew it was the best they could do under the circumstances. Glancing back at the others, her ponytail whipping her on one cheek, Hermoine was relieved to see the others had seated themselves at one of the plastic Muggle tables. Draco was pointing at the red and white soda sign and his father nodded. A broad red umbrella blocked the son and she thought that was good. The Malfoys with their pale coloring were prime suspects for sunburn and she wondered if she could convince them to wear some sunblock. Satisfied they were alone for the moment, she returned her attention to Harry. Her brown eyes focused on his face with concern. "What is it? Did Remus tell you something? I noticed you had a little chat with him."

Harry's green eyes darkened as he stared at her. "What would you care? You're getting awful cozy with Malfoy, aren't you? I thought you're on _my_ side!"

"Harry! I _am_ on your side!" Hermoine replied as she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, sighing. It was clear he was in one of his dark moods again. Obviously, whatever the werewolf had told him hadn't agreed with him at all. "And I had explained what had happened, why we're trying to be friends with them. I know you're totally focused on the big battle with You Know Who and all, but we also need to separate him from his followers. That would weaken him a lot and help you greatly. Can't you see that?"

Harry shrugged.

"Look, you just can't continue fighting with Draco all the time. You know that, don't you?" Hermoine asked, her tone of voice serious. Through the years she had watched as the little disputes had grown into serious scuffles. Harry's bad temper always won out over his common sense and the result was Draco being beat with Harry's fists. Sure, she had hit the blonde Slytherin once during Third Year, but she hadn't actually hurt him. Only Draco's pride had been wounded that day but he had bounced right back, the cocky smirk on his face the next morning. Plus she had saved him from seeing a truly awful sight, saved his innocence. In many ways, the blonde was far more innocent than Harry. He was still playing childish games in a way. He wanted to compete with the famous Boy That Lived and his mouth got him into trouble. "If you do, you'll end up right in Azkaban sharing a sell with Lucius!"

"I'd end up living with him anyway…" Harry grumbled under his breath, his mood dark as a thundercloud.

"What?" Hermoine asked, not having exactly heard what he had mumbled. "You _have_ to control that temper you have! One of these days you'll end up _killing_ Draco and he really hasn't done anything that deserves that. Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore is an idiot!" Harry quickly cut her off, his green eyes blazing with fury. Reaching out, he gripped her by her shoulders and held on tightly. "Dumbledore expects me to go _live_ with him!"

Hermoine's face grew confused, her lips slightly parted and a crease between her brows. "Go live with who?"

"The Malfoys!" Harry replied angrily, his grip tightening. The words spilled from his mouth quickly, one after the other in a mad rush. "Can you believe that? After all I've been through and all I did for him and the school, he expects me to live with a convicted Death Eater! It's crazy! I mean, there's so many other places he could put me: the Weasleys, Grimwald Place, with any of the Order members. You know what? I'm _glad_ I thrashed his office!"

"Harry!" Hermoine exclaimed, shocked.

He released her and started nervously pacing in the small area. "Our esteemed Headmaster has practically gift-wrapped me for Voldemort. He doesn't care about us, Hermoine. He's just _using_ us! He gives us leeway and let's us get away with things so we do all his dirty work."

"Harry, I'm sure that's not true!" Hermoine replied as she stood there watching him pace. "Dumbledore is very wise. He cares about all of his students…."

"Does he?" Harry asked. He had once thought Dumbledore the greatest sorcerer on the entire planet and had told Tom Riddle that down in the Chamber. But that had been years ago, in Second Year. Now it felt as if it had been ages ago, eons even. He hated being lied to, kept in the dark. "Then why did he keep so much from me? Why did he let Sirius die? Who do I have to go live with a Death Eater?"

"I…" Hermoine didn't know what to say to her friend. "I only know this fighting between Houses has to end. If it doesn't, the whole school will fall. We'll _loose_, Harry! Do you want to loose to You Know Who?"

"No. I want to kill him." Harry stated, his voice cold and determined. "He murdered my parents, he was responsible for Sirius' death and he killed Cedric. And who knows how many other innocent lives he snuffed out? I'm tired of him always coming after me, Hermoine. He could have left me alone. I was just a kid going to school and I really didn't know anything about him. I suppose if he wouldn't have started that thing First Year I wouldn't care now, but he did start it. So I'm going to finish it, somehow. I just don't know how…"

Hermoine's brown eyes grew wide at his words. She knew Harry had killed before in self-defense, but to hear him say it just like that – it was unnerving. "Harry, if you do that, you'll be sinking to his level."

"I don't care anymore." Harry said as he stared down at his worn sneakers. "I'm tired of just sitting somewhere waiting for something to happen, asking myself _Is today the day I'm going to die_? Do you have any idea what that's like? I don't think you do, Hermoine. I appreciate the help you've given me over the years, but you can't really know what it's like. I'm the madman's main target and I'm expected to go live with his right hand!"

"I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't put you in danger, Harry." Hermoine reasoned. No matter what Harry thought of the Headmaster, she still trusted him. "Look, you've always wanted a family…"

"Not _that_ family!" Harry instantly replied. His gaze shifted to the three blondes sitting at the Muggle table talking to each other. Remus was relaxing at the table as well, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Truthfully, he wasn't as pleased with the werewolf's presence anymore.

Hermoine shook her head sadly, her ponytail flying about. "Harry, you have to stop _hating_ them! They are _not_ the enemy!"

"They're Slytherins." He replied matter-of-factly, as if that explained it all.

"Yes, they are." Hermoine admitted. "But not all Slytherins are bad! And I'm sure not all of them grow up to be murderers, either! Is that what you think, Harry? Do you really believe Draco is going to become a murderer? Because I don't think he has it in him. Why, he can't even defend himself! Take the wand away and he's an easy target. And that's why it's _your_ job to protect him!"

"Me? Why the heck is it _my_ job? I don't even _like_ the bloody git!"

"Because you're the Chosen One!" Hermoine exclaimed as she poked a finger at Harry's chest. "You have the talent and the ability! You defeated the basilisk and opened the Chamber, you made it through the Tri-Wizard Tournament and stopped the Death Curse a second time…"

"That was an accident!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I told you what happened!"

"There are no coincidences, Harry!" Hermoine explained as she gazed into his emerald eyes. "Don't you see? Its fate that's helping you! You were meant for that wand, a wand that shares the same core with _his_ wand! It saved you once and who knows what coincidence may save you again? I know you're prejudice against Slytherins and think they're all like You Know Who, but they're not. If you'd only get to know them, give them a chance I'm sure you'll realize they're people just like us. And they _need_ your help, Harry, more than the others. They don't have the courage we do to stand up against him! If You Know Who would put the pressure on Draco he'd likely cave in from fear, but if you're there _with_ him, then he'll be able to find the bravery inside himself."

Harry stared at her. He didn't like the idea that he was prejudice against any group, but she was right. He didn't like the Slytherins. The thing is, he couldn't trust them. They were all crooked and underhanded, weren't they? "Look, Hermoine, I know you think you're going to accomplish something this weekend, that you have high hopes, but I'm not sure we're getting anywhere. So they see some Muggles and ride a few rides. What does that get us? I really don't think it's going to change _anything_! I saw Lucius at the beginning of Second Year. He was selling _poisons_, Hermoine! Poisons! He's just using this ridiculous situation to get off the hook! He'll nod his head, say he's sorry and slip Fudge some huge amount of money under the table and he'll be free again! He'll probably convince the man that it was some great misunderstanding that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know Fudge is an idiot. He can't even make decisions on his own!"

Hermoine sighed, aspirated. She had hoped she had convinced him yesterday to really give it a try, but he was still fighting the idea. He apparently loved to hate Slytherins and wasn't ready to give them an honest chance to prove otherwise. And this hate for them wasn't doing Harry any good. In fact, it was harming him. Yet he was blind to the fact. And if it grew any worst, well, then he wouldn't listen to her at all. Who would be able to control him then? Certainly not Ron! And Dumbledore, it was clear Harry distrusted him as well. He hated Snape with an all-consuming passion and McGonagall was too elderly to take him on. That only left Hagrid and their big-hearted friend was too soft to control Harry. He would just pat him on the head and say it would be all right while pouring tea or showing them some new horrid creature he had bred. Harry's powers were growing, as was his thirst for vengeance against the man who had killed his parents as well as anyone else that got in his way. And if he weren't careful, _he'd_ end up being the very thing he hated!

"Harry, you _promised_ me yesterday that you'd give this an honest try!" Hermoine reminded him sternly. "I know maybe this all seems totally stupid and ridiculous, but I think we may be getting somewhere! You have to remember they don't know _anything_ about Muggles! To them, this place is very strange and frightening. But more important than the rides or the food is the opportunity to _talk_ to them! We're in a neutral place, more or less. There are no Houses here, no Quidditch matches to fuss over, no Potions professor breathing down your neck. Now, I've been doing my part. I've been talking to them all morning. I've been trying to be a real _friend_ to Draco and it's not polite that you were laughing at him earlier. Friends don't laugh at each other like that and you know it."

Harry hung his head, feeling slightly ashamed of his behavior. "Look, you have got to be reasonable here. You just can't wave your wand and expect us to be friends!"

"Well, I wish I could!" She replied, glaring at him slightly. "I never said this was going to be easy. But you need to let go of your pride and do what I'm asking. It'll work, trust me!"

Harry studied her face, searching for some clue that the Imperious Curse was controlling her. There was no doubt in his mind that Lucius would cast it if he wanted to or needed to. No matter how much his friend hoped that good existed inside everyone, Harry knew better. Some people's insides were darkened by evilness and no amount of preaching was going to change that. And surely Lucius Malfoy, convicted Death Eater and escapee from Azkaban, was such a person? He had even been caught red-handed in the Ministry of Magic garbed in Death Eater robes! But no matter how much he studied her face he couldn't spot any signs of control, but then one usually couldn't. Maybe Hermoine actually believed in this crazy scheme of hers. It sounded like something from a book, actually. He even had the appropriate wicked Aunt that treated him like a slave… "What of all the things he said to me in the past? Do you just expect me to forget that?"

"Yes, I do!" Hermoine replied as she nodded her head. "We were just kids, Harry! He doesn't know any better. You hurt his feelings when you snubbed him…"

"Did you forget what he called you?"

"No, but I've forgiven him." Hermoine explained gently as she once again reached out to her close friend. Laying a hand on his arm, she looked into his emerald eyes. "I know this is difficult. You remember when Ron called me mental First Year, how I spent most of the day crying in the bathroom? Well, that tore me up inside and it hurt me far worst than Draco's Mudblood taunts. But I forgave Ron and I forgave Draco, too. And if you really think about it, I insulted him first that day by implying his father had bought his way onto the Quidditch team. It wasn't very nice of me and I really had no right to say such a thing, even if he _is_ a Slytherin. I don't like holding a grudge against people or how that makes me feel inside. It'll eat away at you, you know, and it'll destroy you in the end if you let it."

"So you want me to forgive him?" Harry asked, surprised. "Hermoine, he was insulting my _parents_!"

"Yes, I know what he said. But people often say things they don't mean. And it's not a very good way to live, is it? Going around and hating people just because they said some dumb remark?" Hermoine glanced towards the table and saw Lupin was apparently keeping the three Purebloods occupied for the moment. Relief and gratitude swept through her at the sight. The last thing she needed was for one of the Malfoys to come wondering over while she wasn't done with Harry yet. It was strange, really, when she paused to realize it had been far easier to convince Draco to be friends with Harry than Harry to be friends with Draco. "And it's really his _attitude_ that you dislike, right? Well, beating him won't teach him anything; it'll just make the problem worst. But if you become his friend, then you can _change_ his attitude."

Harry released a puff of breath. "I … I just don't like the idea of living with them."

"Lucius donated a bunch of money to St. Mungo's, didn't he?" Hermoine remarked, her brows rose in concentration. "I'm sure I remember that from the Quidditch World Cup…"

"That was just a front, Hermoine!" Harry insisted. "It's to cover up his dark arts background!"

"But if he were _truly_ evil, he wouldn't give them anything at all." She replied calmly. "Still, if you're going to go live with them, then so will I! I want to make sure you give them a fair chance and don't judge them by past actions or rumors you might have heard."

"I don't believe this…" Harry shook his head. He knew all too well how Hermoine loved to boss him and Ron around. Nor had he missed how she had latched herself to Draco, dragging him onto rides. Before he knew it, she would be bossing Lucius as well! And _that_ he would like to see. But then, she had managed to convince him to come here, didn't she? Maybe she was already bossing him. His green eyes focused on the group of four people sitting at the pale pink picnic table. He supposed he could forgive Remus. The werewolf had been only carrying a message from Dumbledore. It really hadn't been his fault the senile old man had chosen Lucius for his new guardian. Nor was he going to hide from the facts. Making up his mind, he focused his gaze on the elder Malfoy. "You want me to talk to them? All right, I'm going to go talk to them."

Harry strode towards the pink plastic table, determination in his step.

"Be polite!" Hermoine hissed at his back and then she scurried to catch up with him. The last thing she wanted was for some fight to break out and with Harry one never knew. He was often so hotheaded and did things without thinking it through.

Reaching the round table, Harry stopped across from Lucius and rested his palms on the smooth tabletop. Glaring with green eyes, he stared at the Death Eater, unafraid. "You think I'm your ticket out of Azkaban, don't you?"

A flicker of surprise passed over Lucius' face but he quickly hid it. "I surmise someone has told you the Headmaster's grand idea. I assure you yesterday when I showed up at your Uncle's house it was not my intentions to _adopt_ you, but it seems Dumbledore has other ideas. Believe me, I had not been aware that so many problems existed in the Muggle home where you were staying."

Draco's blue eyes widened in shock at the adoption news, as this was the first he had heard of it. Was his father really going to adopt _Potter_?

"Or what? You wouldn't have kidnapped me in the first place?" Harry asked defiantly.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it _kidnapping_." Lucius corrected. He had hoped he would have had more time to figure out exactly what he was going to do about his unusual and unexpected problem. Unfortunately, it seemed that Harry's werewolf friend had spilled the beans already. "You did crawl into my carriage by yourself, if I recall correctly. Nor had we gone searching for Miss Granger. I assure you our meeting was fairly accidental. We had simply gone to the beach to observe some Muggles."

"I'm not going to let you hand me over to Voldemort." Harry stated.

"I assure you, Harry, I have no desire to go back to Azkaban." Lucius admitted honestly as he watched the young teenage boy. He had silently observed the little chat the two Gryffindors had engaged in over by the shrubs and had correctly assumed Hermoine was trying to ease him into the situation. Dumbledore had been correct about the boy's emotional troubles. He acted very heroic at times and even Lucius secretly admired his courage to face Voldemort in the cemetery a few years back – no matter how foolhardy it had been – but he was also a bully. According to reports from his son, Harry flew off his rocker at the slightest provocation and often resulted to fighting with his bare hands: a vulgar display. No doubt it was learned from those awful Muggles. Abused, mistrustful and with bad habits, he had been dropped into his lap and now Dumbledore expected some miracle no doubt. "Even with the Dementors gone it's not a very pleasant place. I didn't enjoy sitting in a tiny cell and freezing all the time. But the Headmaster _did_ put me into a tricky position. If I don't care for you properly, I _will_ be sent back to Azkaban. Yet my _Master_ will expect me to hand you over. If I don't do that, he'll kill my family…"

At this news, Draco gulped and his blue eyes widened in fright. He had feared becoming a Death Eater, of course, but to hear his father state such a thing in the open like that…somehow that made it all the more real. The death threat seemed to hang over his head now and his eyes flew over to Harry. How had the Gryffindor lived for so long like this?

Harry continued to calmly stare at the longhaired blonde man. He didn't like that his fate rested in the hands of a Death Eater but what could he do about it except act brave? "So? What are you going to do?"

At the question, Draco's eyes flew back to his father.

"You _do_ know it's wrong to follow a man who would threaten your own family, don't you?" Hermoine added as she slid onto the smooth plastic bench next to Draco. Reaching for his hand under the table, she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Voldemort lied to you." Harry added as he continued to stand at the table, hands resting on the smooth pink surface. "He's not a Pureblood at all. Nor does he care about them. The basilisk he released would have killed _anyone_ who happened to meet its gaze. It didn't care about blood, only its own bloodlust. And he tried to kill Ginny. She _is_ a Pureblood. Even you admit that. Voldemort is nothing but a serial killer, a psychopath. He told me down in the Chamber that he changed his name because he hated his Muggle father and didn't want to keep his filthy name anymore."

Draco's jaw dropped. "He … he has a _Muggle_ father?"

Harry nodded.

Sighing, Lucius closed his eyes for a brief moment. He didn't know what he should do in such a case. He was beginning to like the two Gryffindors and even admire them. Both seemed to possess Slytherin traits. Nor had he forgotten Harry's long list of rule breaking he had admitted to yesterday at the zoo. But did he care for them enough to risk his own family? For he had no doubt in his mind that Voldemort _would_ kill him and his family if they sided with Harry. Reopening them, he focused his silvery-gray orbs on the Potter boy. He stood across the table defiantly, his gaze steady and unafraid. The boy possessed courage and raw power that was for certain. A breeze blew past and his shaggy bangs moved across his forehead, the jagged red scar becoming visible. Lucius gazed upon it for a moment, reminded of how Harry had bested the Dark Lord in the cemetery. Nor had he forgotten Harry's daring during Quidditch. He had been sitting in the stands that day next to Severus and had witnessed the bludger break the boy's arm. That injury alone would have stopped any normal person, but not Harry. He had continued on after the golden snitch and had caught it with his other arm; his body huddled over his broomstick for balance. It was becoming clear that Harry very well might beat the Dark Lord. And being the Slytherin he was, it was in his best interests to be on the winning side. "Can you protect my family?"

The unexpected question surprised Harry and it showed on his face. "You're asking _me_?"

"You have beat him at every turn." Lucius stated. "I saw you defeat him in the cemetery myself. I wouldn't have thought it possible…"

"That was an accident!" Harry exclaimed. The life seemed to drain out of him and he sunk down onto the bench. "Why does everyone always think I _plan_ these things? I did the only spell I could think of!"

"But it worked." Hermoine soothed. "You're a great wizard, Harry! You have the Fates on your side and you'll defeat him one of these days."

Harry moaned loudly and rested his head on the tabletop, his arms folded on his head. "If I ever meet these so-called Fates, I'll kill them, too…."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermoine said as she stood. "You must be famished. I'll get us all something to eat."

Lifting his head, Harry watched Hermoine hurry towards the nearby line for food. "Too bad I can't feed Voldemort to Aragog…"

Draco's brow rose in confusion and he stared at the Boy That Lived. "Who's Aragog?"

"Just this giant spider that lives in the Dark Forest." Harry replied matter-of-factly, his tone of voice bored. "There are thousands of them out there, in this hollow…"

"You're … you're making that up!" Draco accused, frightened. "Surely the Old Fool wouldn't let all those spiders live out there… They'd be a threat to the school and the students!"

"Believe what you want." Harry shrugged. "But I talked to Aragog. I saw him. He's bigger than Hagrid's house. Anyway, I _guess_ it's a he…"

"You've _talked_ to it?" Draco sneered at the other boy and rolled his blue eyes. "Potter, spiders can't talk! Do you think we're that stupid?"

"Yes, it talked to me!" Harry replied. He lifted his head from the tabletop and glared at the blonde teenager. "Why do you think it's called the _Dark Forest_? Do you think because it's filled with nasty, dark creatures? I've been in there plenty of times and have seen things that'll turn your hair white…"

"Potter, my hair already _is_ white!" Draco snorted. "And spiders can't talk. I don't care how big they are! They don't have vocal cords. Why, they don't even have a proper mouth…"

"Are you suggesting I'm lying?" Harry asked as he rose partway out of his seat, his green eyes darkening from emerald to forest. "Because I'm not. You want to go _see_ Aragog?"

"Boys!" Lucius interrupted, waving his snake-headed cane threateningly. "Need I remind you two to get along? And we will _not_ be taking a trip into the Forest to go see this aramantula. I have no desire for _anyone_ at this table to be eaten by such creatures. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Father." Draco leaned back slightly and stared at Harry, his hands folded neatly in front of him. "I'm sorry, Father."

"Harry?" Lucius asked, one dark brow rose in question.

"Would you really care whether or not I get eaten?" Harry asked, partly scared that the reply would be in the negative. But then, he couldn't really hope for a positive reply, could he?

Both Lucius and Narcissa's mouths dropped open in shock.

"Why would you even _think_ such a thing?" Narcissa asked, one pale hand hovering near her mouth. "Of _course_ we would care! We may have pale skin and hair, but I assure you we're not cold-blooded!"

"Well, I know my Aunt and Uncle wouldn't care one bit." Harry admitted. "They'd probably celebrate."

"_Ooohh! Those horrid Muggles_!" Narcissa gritted her teeth and an angry expression appeared on her face. Harry could practically swear he saw her long hair bristling outward from her sleek ponytail, but perhaps that was just static electricity from some ride. The Pureblood witch clenched her manicured hands into fists and then relaxed them again. Climbing out of her place on the smooth plastic bench, she hurried over to Harry. Gripping him by the shoulders, she forcibly maneuvered him into place next to her husband and then she reseated herself. Reaching out, she hugged the very startled dark-haired boy. "This is exactly why those horrid creatures shouldn't raise _our_ kind! They always mistreat them, the filthy creatures! But don't you worry, Harry. We'll take good care of you from now on and I don't care what that freak of a walking corpse says!"

Draco's mouth hung open as the scene played out in front of his startled eyes. It was clear his mother had taking a liking to Harry or something along those lines anyway. And Mother usually got what she wanted…

Harry's nerves jumped as he was squashed between the two adult Malfoys. This sudden behavior of Narcissa's had sent him into a mild state of shock and he didn't know what to think. He had always presumed them to be cold-blooded. "But … what about Voldemort?"

Narcissa waved a manicured hand, polished fingernails flashing before Harry's green eyes. "Don't you worry about that, Harry. Lucius will take care of that, won't you, Dear?"

Closing his mouth, as it was undignified to be seen in public with a gaping jaw, Lucius sighed. Now that Narcissa had taken the boy under her wing, he'd _have_ to keep him! He knew once Cissa decided she wanted something; there was no changing her mind. She'd fuss and make a huge stink until she got her way or he'd end up sleeping on that lumpy sofa again. And he _hated_ that sofa! Sometimes he suspected that she had the house elves put extra lumps in the cushions to further punish him… although it had improved slightly since Potter had freed Dolby…

Then Hermoine appeared with an over-loaded tray of food and he eagerly reached for the now familiar red-and-white cup of fizzy soda. He needed a drink, badly!

To be continued…

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